Black Rebellion: Chess Pieces
by Starlight's Poet
Summary: Side-story to RWBY: Black Rebellion. When Rouge Rose is not busy leading the Black Fang as Zero, he's busy as a student dealing with his classmates. From helping Jaune grow to dealing with Team RWBY's antics, the boy finds himself making both allies and enemies. As well as reminiscing the past.
1. Stage 1: White Knight

Edan: Hello? Hello! Testing, testing, one two three! Can everybody hear me?!

Adam: For fuck's sake, Flaemis! Cease your babbling at once!

Edan: Ah, suck it, bovine. The author did ask us to do this, didn't he?

Ruby: Yeah! ...wait, why are we here again?

Rouge: You remember how in Act I, Demons Anarchy utterly skipped the "Jaunedice" segment of the RWBY storyline? Well, this story is the reason.

Edan: Ah-ah-ah! Side-story, boss. Side-story.

Rouge: Whatever. Is this even necessary? Its more or less covering events in canon while adding in one's own personal touches.

CC: That's pretty much every other Code Geass and RWBY crossover, though, when you think about it.

Edan: Sweet merciful crap! Where'd in Sam Hill did you come from?!

CC: Uh...the front door?

Yang: Hey, isn't she the chick who showed up post credits after Act I?

Rouge: Yes, she is...and the bane of my existence.

CC: Aw, how cruel of you~

Edan: Oh yeah...aren't you supposed to be like the RWBY-version of that Lelouch guy or his reincarnation or something? Actually, which is it? The ending was kinda vague.

CC: The author left it that way before he makes the reveal when we hit Act III.

Edan: Wait, what?! So two more volumes until we get some answers?! Gah, author! You ass!

Adam: *sigh* He was supposed to do the disclaimer and then start the chapter... Oh well. No use saving spoiled milk.

* * *

 _"I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!" -Jaune Arc_

* * *

 **Black Rebellion: Chess Pieces**

* * *

Jaune Arc was a mystery to Rouge Rose, otherwise known as "Zero" in the Black Fang, and it was a mystery that both infuriated and confused him to his wits end.

He has shown to possess a sound, tactical mind befitting of a leader. This was evident back during the Initiation, where he led his would-be team to kill an Elder Death Stalker.

He survived and passed the Initiation of his own merit and collaborating with his team mates, becoming the leader of Team JNPR.

He got into Beacon through the submission of his transcripts, which possess quite impressive feats and information about his accomplishments.

So why...

Why was his combat skill practically non-existent?!

"They're clearly fake." he grumbled as he bit his lip, staring at the photograph of the blonde in question. "Hell, the mistakes are so glaringly obvious."

But that just didn't make any sense. Ozpin might be old, but surely he wasn't senile enough to not notice something like this? No matter how hard he tried to rationalize it, he found absolutely no reason for the Headmaster to even remotely accept the kid, and yet here he was. The heterochromatic teen gave a sigh as he scratched the back of his head, tossing his scroll to his desk and falling onto his bed, soon staring up at the ceiling.

He pondered over the information he had just obtained. Jaune Arc had snuck into Beacon using false transcripts. And strangely, Ozpin allowed him in, not even bringing them up. Not only that, he made him the leader of his own Team.

"Raven was right." Rouge groaned. "Understanding that man is the same as understanding what goes on inside a Grimm's head."

* * *

Classes had been rather boring. Especially Combat Class, which was a bit more dull than usual. So far, the matches had been rather lackluster. The first round was between someone from Team CRDL and another first-year team, AXUR if he remembered right. Sky Larke had won, though barely if the way he was wheezing was of any indication. Then came Pyrrha Nikos from JNPR against a second-year from CFVY named Yatsuhashi. This match was one that had Rouge's interest, if only because it involved a second-year.

He made it a point to memorize the abilities and strengths of every student that caught his interest. Naturally, this included his seniors. So far, there was Coco Adel, leader of Team CFVY and Velvet Scarlatina from the same group. The match was longer than the first, and quite tense. However, Pyrrha won by shooting the man point blank in the face with her weapon and knocking him out.

From there, he tuned everything out. Well, almost one of them. The last one of the day had some interest.

Not by much, though, as it reinforced his opinion of Jaune Arc's weak combat capabilities.

He was paired up against CRDL's leader, Cardin Winchester. From initial observations, he was a brute. He wielded a mace, a blunt weapon reliant on heavy swings to maximize its offensive capabilities. He was also muscular and clad in armor, giving him defense at the cost of speed.

That said, compared to Jaune, he knew how to use his weapon. More importantly, he knew how inexperienced and horrible the blonde knight was. Every swing was either dodged or countered so pitifully with ease that he may as well have been dancing around the kid. The fight had gone for about a minute or two before Glynda had called it off. Cardin's aggressive behavior had ended it with ease and without a single blow to him. He had even tried to go in for the kill.

Then again, Rouge was more than aware of his temperament. Like he, Ruby and Yang, Cardin was also from Signal. While he wasn't as strong as his older sister, he was capable of holding his own. In fact, he was the second best fighter in Signal.

And he was the stereotypical classroom bully. He pushed around and tormented those weaker than him. Disrespected others. made his dislike of Faunus well known.

What a charmer.

At any rate, once classes had come to an end, he had joined (read: grabbed by the collar of his jacket and dragged away) his sisters and their friends in the cafeteria.

"So there we were, in the middle of the night-!"

"-it was day."

"We were surrounded by Ursai-!"

"-they were Beowolves."

"DOZENS of them-!"

"-only two."

"But they were no match! In the end, Ren and I made a butt-load of lien selling off Ursai-skin rugs!"

Rouge stared at the ginger girl with half-lidded eyes. "...you know it's impossible to skin a Grimm and sell their pelts, right?"

"Believe me, I've tried." Ren face-palmed while holding a cup of tea in one hand. "She's been having this dream for nearly a month now!"

Rouge rolled his eyes. That sounded oddly familiar and he knew why. Ruby had a dream for a month straight, though admittedly it was nowhere near as outlandish as Nora's. If anything, it was simply her starting to realize that Summer just wasn't here anymore.

After all, no matter how hard they tried, no one could replicate Summer's knock-out cookie recipe.

It only served to remind them one thing: Summer Rose was gone. And she won't ever come back.

Rouge sighed as he closed his eyes, banishing any ill thoughts. Now was hardly the time to reminisce. When school ends, he needed to check his Scroll and see if there was any updates. He was beginning to grow rather antsy. Remind him again, why did he decide to come to Beacon? Why couldn't he have just stayed behind and continued his work as Zero instead of this damned double life? Surely, Ruby could have handled herself fine, right? Nope. He just had to come like the concerned brother he was.

Damn this sibling bond. Ah, oh well. It couldn't be worse than having to listen to Edan trying to swoon every lady he met off their feat.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha called out bringing Rouge out of his thoughts. Looking at the source of his irritation for the last few days, Jaune Arc was listless and tired if the rings under his eyes were any indication, idly toying around with the pea on his plate with his fork. "Is everything okay?"

"H-huh? Yeah, I'm fine! Totally fine!" The blonde reassured with a grin.

"It's just that you don't seem a little..." Ruby said with equal concern. "You know, not okay?"

"W-what?" Jaune laughed weakly. "I'm just fine. See?" As much as he tried to play it off, everyone knew he was lying. He was most certainly not okay.

Before anyone could even try and tell him what was wrong, a chorus of laughs came from behind them. Rouge's eyes narrowed, finding Velvet Scarlatina trying to find a seat, only to stop when she passed by Team CRDL and jeering and mocking her. The brute in question was holding his hands over his ears, as if making a bunny rabbit gesture. Every's faces scrunched into disgust, shaking their heads. To Rouge, this sight was common back in Signal, though he never would have thought the guy would openly try and mock his upperclassman. _'One of these days, he's going to piss off the wrong person.'_ he thought, hoping that such a day would come.

Hm, perhaps he should introduce Cardin to Adam? Would certainly be a rather interesting meeting.

By now, though, everyone already figured out the source of Jaune's problems. "Jaune," Pyrrha frowned. "Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school."

"Who? Cardin Winchester?" Jaune smiled weakly. "He just likes to mess around, that's all!"

Ruby and Rouge said together in sync with flat faces: "He's a bully."

"Please." he waved it off. "Name one time he's bullied me."

Rouge gave him an even flatter stare. "I can name three times." he said, holding up his hand. He raised his index finger. "One, he shoved all of your books out of your hands in the hallway." Then his middle finger. "Two, he made your shield expand when you were heading into class and you got stuck in the doorway." Finally he raised his ring finger. "And three when Ms. Goodwitch was explaining the lockers, he shoved you into one of them and then send you flying."

"I uh...I didn't land THAT far from the school..." he tried to downplay what happened.

Didn't work.

"Jaune..." Pyrrha frowned heavily. "If you need any help, we are here for you."

"Ooh! I know!" Nora grinned wickedly. "We break his legs!"

Jaune looked at Nora weirdely, wondering where she could have gotten such an idea from. Then his hands clenched. While most would have missed it, Rouge saw that he was annoyed and irritated about people worrying about him. That caught his attention. Why was he so annoyed with their concern? "Guys, I'm fine." he insisted. "Seriously! A-and besides, it's not just me. Cardin's a jerk to everyone!"

"Ow! H-hey, that hurts!"

Once again their attention turned to CRDL. Cardin had his hands around Velvet's ears, tugging at them while the girl tried weakly to escape. "Atrocious." Pyrrha growled. "I can't stand people like him."

Blake nodded, glaring daggers at the man. "He's hardly the only one."

Rouge sighed, shaking his head as he stood up, grabbing his drink. "Rouge?" Ruby called. "Where are you going?"

"Don't worry. It won't take long."

Without explaining further, he moved around the side of the table and walked into a stride. Much to their surprise, he was heading straight towards CRDL.

The team of brutes noticed his approach and paused in what they were doing.

"Hey, shrimp." Sky glared. "What do you want?"

Rouge just stopped short of them. Cardin let go of Velvet's ears, who immediately backed away out of his reach and gently rubbed her ears. The heterochromatic teen gave them an impassive stare, looking at Cardin and then at his cup. Then he looked back at Cardin.

Without another word, he dumped the contents into his face.

The true sting of it? Rouge was drinking hot tea.

"AAH!" the armored teen backed up, clutching his face. "SON OF A BITCH!"

The rest of his Team got ready to assault the skinny teen for what he did to their leader. Rouge merely smirked.

"You little brat!" Dove roared as he threw a punch. Rouge dodged to the left, avoiding it while sticking out his leg and tripping him. He ended up crashing into Russel, causing them to tussle to the ground. From behind, Sky tried to deliver a kick to the head. The young teen simply ducked underneath it and performed a backflip, landing on a bench. The two on the ground untangled themselves and grouped together with Sky, each ready to beat Rouge to within an inch of his life. "You're gonna pay for hurting Cardin!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Rouge said, holding up his hands. "He just looked a bit thirsty is all, so I gave him my tea. Not my fault he can't handle it."

"Fuck that! We all saw you splash it on his face!"

"I tripped."

Their faces were set into disbelief. Then they contorted in rage. This little shit was screwing with them!

"You little...!"

"So if you are all done with this little skirmish, I suggest taking him to the nurse's office to avoid the burns."

They didn't heed his words. They were ready to rip him a new one. Before they could however, a sharp voice called out, "Will someone please explain what I am looking at?" Turning, they found Professor Port standing in clear view. The jovial smile the man often wore on his face was nowhere to be found. Instead, he had a glare on par with that of Ms. Goodwitch. "Because I am quite at a loss here."

All eyes were on the disappointed professor. And for some, the frown on his face was comparable to Goodwitch's glare.

Russel and Sky shifted uncomfortably. They were used to being under the scrutinizing glare of their blonde combat instructor, not the teacher who rambled on in class. "He started it!" Dove pointed an accusing finger at Rouge. 'He threw tea at Cardin's face!"

"I tripped." Rouge stated again. "Also, don't paint yourselves as being in the wrong. Especially when you were harassing Miss Scarlatina earlier."

"Is this true, Miss Scarlatina?" Ports gaze transferred to the girl.

The girl squeaked when she found eyes set on her. The three members of CRDL were practically daring her to say something. Rouge picked up on this and sighed, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to answer properly. Instead, he chose another way to settle this. "Mr. Port. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't security cameras installed here in the cafeteria?" The three bullies suddenly paled at this information. "Bullies typically force others to go along with their story in order to fudge the truth. Wouldn't it be much easier to simply check the recordings?" Rouge continued to give the portly man a fair smile. "It would also be much easier to ask everyone in the cafeteria for the truth as well, of course, but video evidence doesn't lie nearly as much."

"Why...that is an excellent idea, my boy." Port nodded at his suggestion.

He turned towards the three boys, who squirmed beneath his gaze. "Video evidence will determine the truth, you three." he said, voice low. "Now, please take Mr. Winchester to the Infirmary. Aura or no, hot tea to the face can be quite severe."

"Y-yes sir..." the trio replied before grabbing their leader. They gave Rouge the stink eye before walking out of the cafeteria.

The young teen gave a small scoff, though he knew he wasn't spared either. "As for you, Mr. Rose." Port frowned in disapproval. "While I do commend you for taking action in defending your fellow student, aggressive actions such as throwing hot tea in their face is not the appropriate way to handle the situation. Please see Ms. Goodwitch at the end of Lunch, if you don't mind."

"Of course, sir." He expected this to happen. Given what he did, no chance he would get away Scott free. Didn't make it any less satisfying, though. As Port walked away, he returned back to the table to find everyone staring at him oddly. "What?"

"Rouge, just what was that?!"

He cocked his head innocent. "What was what?"

"Are you kidding me?! You just busted Cardin and his team!" Jaune flailed his arms around, face set into disbelief. "And you practically manhandled them! How the hell?!"

"Oh, please." Rouge rolled his eyes. "I've dealt with worse bullies than Winchester. They're all bark and no bite. Not to mention all brawn and no brain."

"Ain't that the truth..." Yang agreed.

"You should've broken their legs!" Nora cried.

The boy deadpanned. "If I broke his legs, I would be getting a lot more than a scolding from Ms. Goodwitch."

"It'd be worth it though." She argued.

"No, Nora, it wouldn't be." Ren sighed.

As everyone continued to chat away, no one noticed the tired yet jealous look that Jaune sent Rouge's way.

* * *

When Jaune first met Rouge Rose, his first thoughts had been strange. He was apparently Ruby's younger brother by only a few minutes, but he was far more mature. Very much so.

It was hard to believe he was only 15. He was so young, yet he already had ample combat experience. Of course, there was a lot more to Rouge. For one, he never actually carried himself as a kid. He really was mature. And collected and overall kind of broody.

And above all, he was a skilled fighter.

He was probably as strong as Ruby. Maybe even stronger. But he couldn't quite understand just how he could have reached it. That wasn't what Jaune envied him so much. What made him so envious was his willingness to stand against people like Cardin. People who got their way through force. Oh, the blonde knight would give anything to have the strength just to put a punch in that mug of his. But he couldn't. He knew he didn't have the strength, and it infuriated him to no end. He wasn't like his parents or his grandparents at all. He never had the combat abilities to prove himself. He was just...useless. No matter how hard he wished he could become the heroes his parents often recounted from personal history, he knew he would never reach such a level as he was.

And yet...Rouge was capable of doing all of that.

From what little he knew, Rouge was a slacker. He wouldn't do homework and barely attended physical activities. He attended the bare minimum just to keep himself in shape enough to fight and did enough work so that he wouldn't be held back. Yet beneath that laziness was an underlying genius. Very early on in the semester, Oobleck had given them a test. Jaune struggled and got a 67%. Not a bad score by any means, but he knew it was hardly passing.

Rouge, on the other hand, got a perfect score. 100%. Weiss, the girl he had a small crush on due to her comment until Rouge told him otherwise, had only scored a 96%.

It just wasn't...it just wasn't fair...geniuses can get by in life without putting any effort while the rest have to struggle just to succeed. It was petty of him to hate Rouge for that, but what else could he think? He was...just so much better than he was in almost every way.

He was smart, powerful, brave, the list went on.

Then there was him. Inexperienced. Scraggly. Stupid...a fraud. At this thought, Jaune's hands balled into fists, biting his lip out of frustration.

He had no other choice in the matter. It was the only option he had to achieve his dream!

Even if it was disgraceful. What would his parents think?

Moreover...what would happen if his friends found out?

* * *

After lunch had ended, Rouge had listened to Ms. Goodwitch's scolding for about twenty minutes or so. He had heard this speech before all the time back in Signal whenever he managed to trick a bully and get caught because he started the instigation that led to them being caught, but the experience was very much different compared to the scolding he was receiving now. Her glare remained focused on him, unblinking and heated as if she was trying to carve a dagger into him and brand him with some unknown symbol of distrust or something. It sort of creeped him out a bit.

What an uncomfortable experience, being subjected to this kind of torture.

Thankfully, he was allowed to return to class. By now, it was Oobleck's History lessons. They hardly interested him, since they were focusing on the Faunus Rights movement. He had instead chosen to look at the list of potential targets for their next operation that Edan had sent him. Each one was very tempting for various reasons.

The Black Fang had three criteria for targeting an individual or organization. The first, they must be guilty of a heinous crime. Drug distribution, arms dealers, slave moment, etc. The second, they would have to be notorious in some way to have an impact on society. Small time groups could be easily forgotten, but larger cells - the ones the police had trouble nailing and busting - could garner much more attention. That wasn't to say they ignored the smaller criminal groups. Everyone was fair game. Targeting the larger more well known groups could garner more attention and increase their standings. The third, and most important, was the person in charge. They had to have some kind of influence on the criminal underworld. The best prime example would be Roman Torchwick. In Vale, he was the undisputed Kingpin. The Moriarty of the Vale Underworld. Even small-time criminals would recognize his name and hold it with respect and admiration. Taking out scum who had a substantial say in the criminal underworld had a major impact...and send a hell of a message.

No one was safe.

Of course, dirty corporations were also fair targets. Thanks to info leaks, false information and tips, the Black Fang had revealed several dirty conspiracies and horrible secrets. The ones that police wouldn't be able to touch and could only offer a slap on the wrist were paid a personal visit by the Black Fang.

In a way, they had an impact. People had no choice but to listen to what they were speaking. Most of their influence was in Vale, but they had a substantial impact on the other kingdoms as well, particularly thanks to Goe's information gathering and cyber warefare. The Wolf Faunus was not to be underestimated when it came to electronics.

Plus, when you have someone with as fearsome a reputation as Edan Flaemis, the Blue Devil on your side, it certainly speaks volumes of how much power you had.

 _'Of course, the only thing that troubles me is this Cinder Adam mentioned.'_ Rouge thought with a frown. _'She has the cooperation of Roman Torchwick and the White Fang cell here in Vale. While I hate for Adam to work under her for the time being, its best to keep tabs on her while remaining faithful.'_ His eyes narrowed thoughtfully, tapping a finger against his chin. _'Still...who is she? And why would she need so much Dust?'_

It was a confusing prospect. She's forcing Adam's cell of the White Fang to cooperate with Roman Torchwick, a human. They were to be his hired help and assist him in Dust heists.

Virtually every store and distributor in Vale was hit. The Dust stolen, yet the lien remained untouched.

Adam had told him to his face that he was the only human he actually liked. Roman Torchwick, to some extent, was tolerable. But he still hated humans. The fact that he was working for one would have scratched heads were they not aware of the circumstances. From what Adam told him, she had forced the Fang to cooperate. Initially, she tempted him with resources - Dust, information and the likes. Adam naturally refused. Then she came back and slaughtered his men.

After that, he didn't have much choice. Of course, sometime after that the two had reunited. In all honesty, Rouge would have thought it would take him much longer to convince him to join his side.

Then again, his heart leaped when Adam had remembered him, even with his intense hatred.

"Yes yes, I'm sure that this all must seem like ancient history to you all!" Oobleck's voice droned on. "But let me remind you the after effects of the Civil Rights Revolution, more commonly known as the Faunus Wars, can still be seen to this very day!"

He zipped over to the front of his desk as he drank his coffee. "Now then, who among you have suffered from discrimination, prejudice, or subjugation due to your Faunus heritage?"

Many students raised their hands, including the second year student Cardin bullied earlier. Velvet Scarlatina was meek in doing so and she kept her head down, eyes darting off to the side. Cardin sat in his deck, an ice pack against his face with a particularly sour look about him. Rouge smirked a bit, knowing that he was the source behind it.

"Dreadful! Simply, dreadful!" Oobleck shook his head in dismay.

"It is this sort of needless hate that breeds violence! Why-why, look at what's happened to the White Fang!" The professor stopped shortly before he added, "And as of lately the formation of the Black Fang!" Rouge's ears perked up, hearing his group being mentioned. "A pop quiz question for you all! What can you all tell me about the Black Fang?!" To the heterochromatic teen's surprised, it was Weiss who raised her hand. "Miss Schnee!"

"The Black Fang are a vigilante force composed of both Humans and Faunus. They have been reported to target corrupt corporations and criminal organizations and use force to administer judgment." she spoke, giving the textbook answer. "They were formed, at the earliest, little under a year ago. Their leader, Zero, has never made any public appearance as far as the media or anyone else knows. Additionally, no one knows what they're ultimate goal is, either."

Rouge resisted the urge to smirk, lest someone notice.

"Correct!" Oobleck smiled. "In a way, the aftereffects of the Faunus Wars may have played a part in the formation of the Black Fang! Arguably, while many would argue about their morals and methods, one cannot deny that they've made a significant impact on the communities. Nonetheless!" He zipped over to his desk, taking a swig of his coffee. "Now, which of you young scholars can tell me what many historians believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"

This time, it was Rouge who answered. "Fort Castle." he said smoothly. "In the third year of the war, a general by the name of Lagune attempted to stage an attack on the Faunus while they were asleep."

"Correct, Mr. Rose! Now, who can tell me what led to General Lagune's defeat?!" At this point, the boy noticed that Jaune had been dozing off somewhat, casually leaning on his hand. Cardin also noticed this and smirked, finding a chance to torment the boy and flicked a wad at his head. This caused Jaune's head to slip and bang against the desk rudely, causing him to grimace. "Ah, Mr. Arc!" The blonde knight yelped, sitting up straighter when Oobleck darted in front of his desk. "Finally contributing to class! Most excellent! Tell me, what is the answer?!"

"A-ah, um..."

 _'Shit shit shit!'_ Jaune cursed. _'This is bad! Really bad! Of all the times to snap awake!'_

He looked around the room, hoping to find an answer. He found no articles that showed any information as such, but some of which that did have info on the Faunus war was obscured by several students. He noticed Pyrrha mouthing the answer to him, but unfortunately, he was unable to read lip, or properly make out. "T-the answer is, uh..." His teammate was noticing his obvious lack of communication, and wrapped her fingers around her eyes, as if to make binoculars.

 _'They had binoculars?'_ he questioned. ' _Seriously?'_

Just before he could make that answer, he found Rouge, who was sitting behind Pyrrha, tapping his fingers against his eyelids.

"T-they're, uh..."

 _'Please be right, please be right!'_

"E-e-eyes...?"

Oobleck stared at him for a moment before zipping over to the board. "Not quite the answer I was looking for, but correct nonetheless."

Cardin spluttered. "W-what?!"

"Can anyone elaborate on Mr. Arc's answer?"

"I can, sir." Pyrrha said. "It's Night Vision. Nearly all Faunus are capable of seeing in the dark. General Lagune was unaware of this when he attempted to attack them while they were asleep."

"That is correct, Ms. Nikos!"

Cardin scoffed, clearly not even remotely impressed. Rouge, by this point, tuned it all out and returned to his Scroll. However, he found himself glancing at Jaune, who shot him strange looks. Some looks radiated gratitude for the answer, but the rest seemed slightly hostile.

What had him so uptight? Curious. Well, he could find out later. For now...

 _'A new cartel?'_

* * *

After class had come to an end, Jaune felt mentally exhausted. It was bad enough that he forced himself to stay awake, lest Oobleck call on him again and catch him off guard. God that was horrible. He didn't dare think what would happen if he got the answer wrong. He just wanted to lie down and go to bed right now, which sounded very nice. It was the end of school. At least for today.

Unfortunately, the Arc luck seemed to be particularly out for him. He found himself tripping over and his face became intimately acquainted with the tiled floor. His Aura flared, preventing his nose from suffering the most due to being the most tender part of his face, though it still hurt. Wincing, he pushed himself up on all fours and found Cardin walking away, steaming.

 _'Damn he's in a bad mood.'_ Jaune thought, standing up and glaring at his backside. _'I guess he wasn't too happy I didn't screw up.'_

He wasn't an idiot. He knew it was Cardin who threw that wad. He was sitting right behind him, after all. "You know." He heard Pyrrha snarl, glaring daggers at his retreating form. The look on her face promised pain. "I will break his legs."

Jaune laughed awkwardly, scratching his cheek. As much as he'd like to see that, he didn't want Pyrrha to get into trouble. While he still wasn't sure about the whole Mistral Champion several times over thing, he knew she had something of a reputation going for her. He didn't want that to be ruined just because of his screw up.

"It's fine...don't worry about it."

His partner frowned in disapproval. He knew she wanted to get back at Cardin so badly, but...a guy like that just wasn't worth it. No matter how much he wanted to break that smug look of his. For now, they'd just have to settle for him having an ice pack to his face.

He must have a dopey look on his face or something because he caught Pyrrha staring at him in concern and wonder as if she were thinking about something. He a saw a metaphorical lightbulb light up over her head. "Come with me!" Without warning, the red-haired warrior grabbed him by the wrist and suddenly dragged him away, yelping from how strongly she was tugging.

"W-wait, Pyrrha! Wh-where are we going?"

His questions had no response as the girl continued to drag him along. They had run up the stairs, reaching to the third and fourth floor before reaching what looked like the entrance to the rooftop. It was dusk, the sky tinted dark orange. From afar, the City of Vale could be seen over a beautiful cliffside stretching over an ocean. "It's rather beautiful, isn't it?" Pyrrha asked as they stepped onto the roof. A wide, serene smile could be found across her face. "I found out about this place from an upperclassman."

"Y-yeah." Jaune nodded, confused as to why there were here. He peered over the edge slightly and paled, noting how far high up they were. Aura or not, if he fell, he'd end up being a bloody smear on the pavement. "Um, Pyrrha? I know it may seem like I'm depressed and all, but I don't quite think I'm at THAT point..."

Pyrrha didn't understand at first. When she did, her face was set into panic. "No!" On instinct, she shoved him away from the edge, sending him on his back.

"Ow..."

"Eek! I'm sorry!"

Jaune laughed weakly, waving a hand. "D-don't worry. I'm used to it."

"I'm sorry, I just-I just thought that..." She trailed off.

"No, no, it's fine. I shouldn't have said anything..." He stood back up to his feet, dusting himself off before addressing her. "So...why'd you bring me here?"

"Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so..." Pyrrha said, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "I want to help you!"

Jaune spluttered, unsure he heard correctly. "Wh-what?"

"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us!"

Pyrrha never noticed the defeated look on his face as his shoulders slumped. Even his own partner thought he was weak. He should hav expected it, especially since she was a combat prodigy, but...it hurt. It really hurt. "You...think I need help?"

The Mistral Champion flinched. "N-no! No, that's not what I meant."

"But you just said it."

Pyrrha looked like she wanted to say something. Something that could salvage this. She eventually chose another route to take. "Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time." she told him. "It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon!" She smiled widely, face beaming. Even now, she wasn't noticing it. Jaune didn't know if that made the tightness in his chest hurt worse or not. "That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!"

"You're wrong. I-I don't belong here." The words fumbled out without meaning to, causing him to clam up. Anymore and-

"That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!"

"No, I don't!"

It came so quickly that it took them both off guard. Pyrrha took a step back, surprised by the intensity and anger in his voice. Jaune hadn't meant to snap out like that. His frustrations were weighing too heavily. He bit his lip, hands balling into fists.

...he couldn't keep doing this anymore. Unable to look her in the face, he turned away from her and looked at the orange sky ahead of him.

"I wasn't really accepted into Beacon..."

From behind him, Pyrrha grew disturbed. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" Gritting his teeth, he turned around to face her. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!"

The red haired girl gasped. He did what? "But...but, why Jaune...?" She could only ask.

"'Cause this is always what I've wanted to be!" he shouted angrily and out of frustration. Part of him angry at his own uselessness. Part of him angry because he was a screwup. Part of him angry that he could never live up to his family's standing "My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough."

Pyrrha's eyes softened. She stared at Jaune's back, unsure of what she could say. It hurt more than it should have, hearing Jaune say such things. She wasn't angry or disappointed or even disgusted with him for lying his way. Instead, she felt...sad. Sad that he was so frustrated and angry with himself. But why couldn't he see that he was much more than a screw up? She stepped closer, hoping to comfort him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Then let me help you-"

"I don't want help!" Jaune snarled, brushing her hand away. Tears were swelling in his eyes, shoulders shaking. "I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"

"Jaune, I-"

"I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand?" He looked down, unable to look at her anymore. His bangs hid his blue eyes. His bit his lip. He refused to cry. Not in front of her. "If I can't do this on my own... then what good am I?" Pyrrha, maybe out of concern for him or out of pity, tried to touch him. His voice stopped her in her tracks. "Just...leave me alone. Okay?"

"If..." Pyrrha started, lowering her head. "If that's what you want."

Jaune didn't look up. He heard her footsteps further away before hearing the door shut behind her. Left all by himself, Jaune found himself sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall with his knees tucked at his chest. His nails were digging into the skins of his palms, threatening to break into them and draw blood. He knew he must have hurt her feelings. He knew she was just trying to help. He knew he was being selfish, but...

"For once..." he muttered. "For once, I just want to save someone."

Then an unexpected answer came. "And how to do you intend to do that? By sitting on your ass in self-pity?" Startled, Jaune looked up, finding silver and purple staring at him with a frown. "You know, I may not be an expert when it comes to women, but I think I know them well enough to know that you shouldn't hurt their feelings."

"R-Rouge." There was a slight panic in his voice. Did he hear everything? Of all people, why him? Why the guy that had everything? "What're y-you doing here?"

Rouge gave him a flat stare, folding his arms. "...I heard everything." he said, making his heart sink. "So, you cheated your way into Beacon, huh?"

"W-wait!" Fearfully Jaune rose up to his feet, pleading. "Y-you can't tell anyone!"

"Why?"

"I-I just-"

Rouge gave him a glare, shutting him up. "Are you some kind of idiot, Arc?" he asked, causing him to falter. "It's one thing to turn away help from your teammates, but it's another thing altogether when you do something half-assed."

"W-what?!"

"What did you expect it was going to be like, Arc? Sunday school? This isn't a civilian academy. It's where we train to become warriors. You should have known that when you signed up for this. You could have at least studied up on some form of weapons training and instead you ran in headfirst like a damned fool." Each accusation hit home. And they hit hard. It felt worse than a blow from the Deathstalker from Initiation. "Were you TRYING to get yourself killed?!"

"B-but I-"

"Shut. Up." Rouge hissed. "I'm talking!"

Jaune effectively shut his trap. Frankly, this new demeanor of Rouge frightened him. He never saw him quite like this before. At least, not when he was with Ruby. Perhaps this was a side of him that he only showed to others when his sister wasn't around?

Either way, it was still terrifying.

"Look." the heterochromatic teen continued. "I don't care if you lied your way to Beacon or that you want to become like your family. But for Dust's sake, at least think your actions through before you jump headfirst into the fire! What would you have done if Pyrrha hadn't nailed you to that tree in Initiation, much less unlock your Aura?"

The blonde flinched. "I..."

"Without Aura, that fall could have broken a few of your bones easily. And don't even get me started on what would have happened if you tried to take on a Deathstalker without Aura!"

The blonde gulped. He had no difficulty imagining that sort of scenario. He would've been skewered or smashed into paste. "O-okay, so maybe I screwed up." he stuttered, looking away in shame. "But even still, I-"

"And why did you turn away Pyrrha's help?" Rouge cut him off with a frown. "Because of some stupid idea of pride?"

At this, Jaune scowled and glared back. "That's so easy for you to say." he growled. "We can't all be geniuses like you, you know! And like I told Pyrrha, I-"

He was cut off when Rouge slammed his fist into his stomach. The blow promptly knocked the wind out of his sails, causing him to spit out saliva. Clutching his abdomen, he fell to his knees. "Pride is, and always will be, a person's greatest weakness." Rouge said coldly. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine, listening to Ruby's brother talk. "Pride is what makes you stupid. It's what pushes you away from your team and get them killed. Pride is what gets YOU killed." Jaune, finding the strength to breath again, slowly got back up to his feet and looked up to find Rouge walked away from him, hands in his pockets. "Someone like you, who can't even understand something so simple, can't hope to become a hero."

Jaune bit his lip. The words hit home closer than he would have liked. It hurt even worse than Pyrrha's pity. "Then what..." he got out. His voice was so quiet he doubted Rouge even heard him. "What am I supposed to do?"

To his surprise, Rouge did hear him. His hand was at the doorknob when he looked back at him. Strangely, the younger Rose sibling no longer had the chilling facade of a demon present on his mug. Instead, there was something else. Something strange that he couldn't quite understand.

"If a King doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"

With that, he opened the door and took his leave, the door closing behind him. The blonde was left alone worth his thoughts. Rouge's words lingered and sunk into his head. King? Subordinates? What did he mean by that? Was it some sort of leadership philosophy? He didn't understand it...

He gave a low sigh as he fell back to the floor, palming his forehead. "I don't think I'll ever get that guy..."

* * *

The following weeks that had been leading up to Forever Fall Field Trip had been relatively tense for Team JNPR. There was an awkward atmosphere whenever Jaune and Pyrrha were together, the latter unsure of what she could do or say while the knight was clearly troubled by something.

Rouge was disinterested in whatever drama they had. He was more focused on his own dealings. Of course, there was a bit of interest in Jaune Arc now, however small.

"Seriously?" Edan said with a laugh on the other end of the Scroll. "The guy had the balls to cheat his way into Beacon? Gotta admit, he's a real piece of work."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, he failed to think ahead of what to do when he actually got in." Rouge added. "Although...something about it interests me."

"Hah. Found something to exploit?"

"Perhaps. Anyway, about what I asked you to look into."

Edan chuckled. "Well, as it turns out, your troublesome blond knight comes from quite the family. Apparently, the Arc Family, back before the Great War if you believe the documents that were still left behind, were the distant relatives to the Vale Royal Family. Close enough to be considered nobility. The men of the household were named as knights and whatnot. When Mistral and Mantle pissed people off, the Arcs were among the first to answer the call. And if you believe the records, the females are pretty much Amazons. Jeanne Arc, the blondie's great grandmother, was loved by her men and feared by her enemies. A goddamn terror on par with a Silver-Eyed warrior."

Rouge's eyes widened minsiculy before a small smirk fell on his face. "Interesting. A shame he's a bad seed."

"Maybe not. Most of the males turn out to be late bloomers. 'Course, it doesn't justify the brat being a dumbass. Anyway, about the other thing you were asking me and PIECE to look into. There's not much info on this new drug cartel. Only thing we have so far is that the drug they're distributing is something pretty hardcore and that they first showed up in Atlas."

"Atlas?" Rouge repeated, mildly impressed. Out of the four Kingdoms, Atlas had the least amount of criminal activity. Namely because of James Ironwood's advancements and the increase of law enforcement policies. It was just a tad shy away from being Martial Law, however mild, but it was effective. Only fools would dare try anything under his watch. "I'm almost impressed. And what's the drug they're distributing?"

A sigh came on the other end. "We don't know yet. All we know is that it's cheap and supposedly makes the rest of the drugs on the market look like piss."

"I see..." Rouge hummed in thought. If a drug like that was inexpensive and as big as Edan claimed, one could only imagine what it could do. "Keep me posted of any new developments."

"Aye-aye!"

The call came to a quick and short end. The young teen slipped his Scroll into his pocket and removed himself from the corner of the stairwell. He was just about to reach the hallway when he heard two voices.

"...ust don't think I'm cut out for this." That was Jaune's voice. Granted, his teammate's room was a just doors down. He peeked his head around the corner and found the blonde talking with Ruby, who was in her night clothes. "I did something stupid and Pyrrha and I are...well, it's mostly my fault. She was just trying to help and I guess I took it the wrong way. Now I don't know what to do." He groaned as he palmed his face, lowering his head. "I'm not leader material. I'm a failure."

Ruby was silent for a while as she sat next to Jaune before she cracked a smile. "Nope."

"Wh-huh?" Jaune blinked, looking at her. "Nope?"

"Nope!" she repeated. "You're a leader, whether you like it or not, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure."

"What? But what if your wrong? What if I'm not cut out for this?"

"Nope!"

Jaune stared at her for a moment before he laughed. "You know, you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff."

"Nope!" she giggled into her palm. "Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid..."

The blonde groaned as he sinked into the floor.

"... and you might've even been a failure the first day we met!"

Lower still.

"But, you can't be one now. You know why?"

"Uhhh, because...?"

"Because it's not just about you anymore. You've got a team now, Jaune. We both do! And if we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us." She stood up and put her hands on her hips, grinning. She tried to look mature, but to Rouge, it just made her look adorable. "We have to put our teammates first, and ourselves second. Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune. And I think that can be you."

Jaune stared at her, starry-eyed before he smiled a bit. "Maybe." he said, shrugging as he stood up. "Thanks for the pep talk, Ruby."

"My pleasure~"

"By the way..."

"Hm? What's up?"

Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Well, I kinda sorta asked Rouge for advice..." The teen's eyes widened a bit, but then shrugged. So, he was fibbing the truth of it? Well, he suppose he did give some kind of advice. Just not the kind he wanted to hear. "He told me, if a King doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow? Any idea what that means?"

The girl scrunched up her face and fuddled her brow in thought. A moment passed. "...Nope! No clue!"

Jaune sighed. "I thought as much."

Smiling to himself, Rouge decided it would be best to leave the two to themselves. At the very least, the idiot was taking his words to consideration.

* * *

The following day, the first year students of Beacon Academy had gathered on a Bulkhead and left the school. The trip was mostly peaceful, what with everyone making small talk. Once they arrived, their breaths were completely and utterly stolen away.

For thousands of miles, the foliage and grass of the bloody forest painted the landscape a dusty red. As the leaves fluttered from their branches, one could mistake them for crimson snowflakes. The morbid yet beautiful sight lasts continuously all year round.

Hence the name, Forever Fall.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful." Glynda said as she walked ahead of the group while they trailed behind her. Eventually, she turned to face them, expression stern and cold, practically daring any troublemaker to start something. "But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." She produced a small glass jar from her person. Inside was opaque, cherry red liquid that sloshed around inside.

Those closest to the teacher caught a whiff of the scent the sap gave off and salivated. Especially a certain pancake-obsessed hammer girl. "Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4 o'clock."

The smile she gave them was anything but pleasant. "Have fun."

Due to the warning, she gave them all previously...they took those words with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, the students groups up and split off to nearby trees to fill their jars. Rouge broke off from the other students and went to a secluded area of the woods to fill his own jar. Ruby had initially asked him if he wanted to collect sap with them, but he politely turned her down. As much as he'd like to, he had other things to deal with.

Things that involved a certain blonde idiot.

He swiveled his head to the side, noting how Team CRDL had dragged Jaune along with them to another part of the forest with a box in hand.

Team CRDL had been unusually quiet as of late. Frankly, it was disconcerting. Cardin was not one to shy away from violence when need be and he most definitely knew how to hold a grudge and who to single out. When he discovered Cardin on the Bulkhead, he was eerily quiet. Something that didn't quite sit well. What did he have in mind? When he saw him with Jaune, he had a pretty good idea. There was little doubt that Cardin had something in mind. What, he didn't know.

Quietly, he followed the group, hiding among the bushes. He found CRDL harassing Jaune in a clearing. "Ow!" Jaune cried as he was rudely thrown to the ground on his posterior. He looked up at Cardin. Much to the disappointment of both teenagers, he was no longer wearing an icepack. "O-okay, what's this about, Cardin?" he asked, standing up and bracing himself for an inevitable fight.

The armored brute chuckled, holding up a hand of mock casual intentions. "Oh, take it easy, Jauney Boy." he said with a smirk. "We just want to have a little chat is all. And maybe bury the hatchet, get to know each other."

Jaune eyed him suspiciously, looking for a way out. Unfortunately, Cardin's teammates surrounded him on all sides, hands on their weapons. Chances were, he wasn't going to be getting out of this without a fight. And several bruises. "...what do you want to talk about?"

"See, here's the thing. I happened to overhear you and your girlfriend, Nikos or whatever, getting into an argument. And I just happened to hear something special." Rouge's eyes narrowed, seeing how Jaune's face began to lose color rapidly. "You know, I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed. Out of everyone in Beacon, I didn't think you were a rebel~"

Jaune's expression blanched. He knew...the bully knew. "I imagine it would be pretty bad if Ms. Goodwitch or any of the teachers found out, huh?" Cardin said, stepping closer to Jaune. Fearfully he took a step back. It only served to increase his grin. "Aw, don't be like that, buddy. I ain't gonna tell nobody, scouts honor!"

He paused.

"...so long as you do me a favor."

Jaune furrowed his brow. "W-what...kind of favor?" he asked, gulping down his fears. This completely sucked balls. He didn't want to be anywhere near this guy. But he didn't want anyone finding out about his fake transcripts, either. Even if he didn't deserve to be here, he WANTED to be here. If only for selfish reasons, but isn't everyone entitled to being selfish?

Cardin smirked. "You see that ledge over there?" he said, jabbing his thumb at the spot. "Peek over there and tell me what you see."

"So you can kick me over the edge?"

"Oh no, nothing like that."

The snickers didn't convince him. Reluctantly, Jaune obeyed. He walked over and knelt down, looking over the ledge. A lump formed in his throat, finding his team and Ruby's mixed together, collecting sap. To his small amusement, Nora was gulping down an entire jar's worth of the stuff while Ren filled one. When he turned and found the one in her hand empty with red smudge at her face, he looked quite annoyed. Pyrrha, however, still looked troubled and saddened, no doubt because he had been avoiding her for the last few days.

"So, what do you see?"

"I see my team and Ruby's." he answered hesitantly. "I don't see Rouge anywhere, though."

Cardin clicked his tongue. "Oh well." he shrugged his shoulders and tossed a jar of sap in his hand. Jaune looked at him, wondering what he intended to do. Knowing the Arc luck, he was going to dump the stuff all over him. Then he took notice the box in Russel's hands, which quivered and shook. Noticing his look, Cardin chuckled. "Curious what's inside, Jauney Boy?"

"N-no."

"Rapier Wasps." His eyes turned into dinner plates. "They're attracted to sweet stuffs, just like the saps from the trees around here."

Wasps. Sap. His friends. Suddenly the dots became clear. A pit formed in his stomach, uneasiness creeping up and wrapping its hands around his neck. Jaune found it difficult to breath properly. "Y-you're going to throw it at them and sic the wasps on them?"

"Not me." Cardn thrusted the jar into his hands. The guy carried it like it was nothing. In Jaune's hands, it felt like he was carrying a boulder. "You." He looked up, wanting to protest. The sinister glare in Cardin's eyes shut him up instantly. "All it takes is a single throw, Jauney Boy. Do this, and I promise, I won't say a peep about your transcripts." Around him, the rest of his team laughed cruelly.

Rouge's eyes narrowed dangerously. Teeth threatened to crack under the pressure. Slowly, he withdrew Wilting Requiem from his holster, aiming it at Jaune. If he even showed the slightest movement of throwing the jar at Ruby or anyone, he was going to shoot the jar and let the stuff fall all over him. He didn't care if his friends hated him for it. He was not about to let Jaune hurt Ruby.

Especially not since she was allergic to Rapier Wasps. His heart clenched, remembering when she had been stung that one time a few years back. A high fever, vomiting and dizziness every time she even so much as got up to walk. It was horrible and neither he nor Yang wanted her to experience it again.

He was just hoping Jaune was going to make the right choice here.

If he didn't, well...he's the one that is going to have to suffer. And while he was at it, maybe even use team CRDL as target practice. It wasn't as if anyone other than their parents would miss them.

Jaune looked at the jar, then at his friends. Slowly, he raised his arm over his head.

Pyrrha turned around, talking with Ruby. A smile touched their faces as they made idle chatter. Jaune's hand was shaking, tensing as he gritted his teeth.

 _'I want to help you.'_

Her words from the other night echoed in the back of his mind. He was so frustrated with himself that he wanted to cry. He couldn't do anything right. The only thing that had ever gone right was Initiation where he and his team killed the Death Stalker. Him running into Pyrrha where she unlocked his Aura. Him being made into a leader, however disagreeable that decision was.

All of that had to do with Pyrrha. The one girl who he had openly confessed the truth to. The girl who still offered to help him when he said he didn't want it.

She was his partner, wasn't that right? And weren't partners supposed to look after each other?

 _'If a King doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?'_

It was at that moment, Jaune understood the meaning behind Rouge's words.

The King was the leader. And if he failed to set a proper example, then how could his subjects and subordinates follow? A King that takes no action is not one the people would desire for a leader. They desired someone who was willing to work to get results.

Someone that lets others do the work for them has no right to call themselves a leader.

"...no."

Cardin's eyes widened, as if surprised before they narrowed dangerously, hand going to the handle of his mace. "What was that?"

"I sad NO!" At close range, the jar smashed straight into Cardin's face. The sap exploded all over him, smearing into his eyes and dripping into his mouth. Were it not for his Aura, the shards of glass would have sliced through his eyeballs.

Didn't mean it hurt any less.

The brute staggered back in pain, holding his face and biting back a scream. Stunned by what happened, CRDL looked at Jaune and promptly took a step back out of fear.

Jaune's face was not anywhere close to that of a weakling. His teeth were bared, sharpened like a wolf and his bright blue eyes burned with ferocity. His expression was similar to the expression regarding the cornered wolf.

"I don't care if you blab about my transcripts." he snarled. "I don't care if you hate me. But never...EVER...do ANYTHING to MY team, Cardin!"

From his position, Rouge smiled in approval. The blonde made the right choice after all.

"Y-you!" Cardin snarled, grabbing his mace. "You little shit! You're dead!"

Before he even had a chance to swing, Rouge sprung into action and fired off a round. In mid-swing, the trajectory of the mace was put off-course by the bullet, causing him to completely miss Jaune's face. The blonde, to his credit, remained defiant and even planned on taking it to the face, if only to get a punch in afterwards. Thankfully, he didn't have to. His hand curled into a ball and reared back his fist, pouring in all of his strength into one punch.

Then he threw a left hook and slammed it straight into Cardin's jaw.

A bright light flashed from the point of impact. The force of the blow was enough to throw Cardin back several feet. Jaune stumbled from the recoil of the strike, surprised by what he just did. He stared at his hand in time to see a pure white glow fade away. He remembered seeing that glow before, but the sensation was different. It felt stronger. More refined somehow.

Unfortunately, his moment of awe was short lived as Cardin's teammates snapped out of their stupor and rushed at him.

"You're gonna pay for that!"

Jaune cursed, reaching out for his Crocea Mars before a black and purple blur sped into sight, striking all three of the bullies at once and knocking them away. Russel spun around in the air before landing in a bush, face-first. Sky found himself landing between the legs on a log. Aura be damned, there was nothing to protect his nether regions and soon found himself letting out a high-pitched squeak and falling over, frozen. Dove was the least worrisome. His pants leg was caught in a tree branch, causing him to hang upside down.

Jaune blinked, looking at the source of this apparent comical site. His promptly became friends with the ground. "R-Rouge?!"

"Hey there, Jaune." The teen blandly greeted. "What's up?"

The knight stared at him, dumbstruck. He looked around him, finding all of Team CRDL incapacitated in some form or another. He slowly then looked back at Rouge. "...were you watching all this time?"

"Will you hit me if I say yes?"

"No. I'd actually call you an ass for not helping sooner, but considering what happened the other night, I don't think the point is moot."

"Good, because that was exactly the point. I wanted to see if you were capable of making the right choices." Wilted Requiem folded in on itself, returning to rifle form and was placed in its holster. Meanwhile, Rouge smiled thinly. "Seems like you understand what I mean now. About time."

"Oh, back off." Jaune snapped before he became quiet. He looked back at Cardin, who remained unmoving from the ground. Then to the rest of Team CRDL. He then looked at the overview of the ledge. Pyrrha was back with the rest of JNPR. She looked a bit disheartened, but she otherwise had a perfect smile. One that sent his heart fluttering. "...I always wanted to be a hero. I never stopped thinking about it and I didn't care if I ended up getting myself killed. I just...wanted to be SOMETHING. Anything, really."

He ran a hand through his locks, closing his eyes.

"I...really don't belong here. Ozpin made a mistake."

"I don't think so." Rouge cut in.

"And how do you figure?"

The boy smiled mysteriously. "Jaune. Think for a moment. Who is the Headmaster of Beacon Academy?"

"Professor Ozpin, of course." Jaune answered with a confused frown. "He's the youngest Huntsman in history to become a Headmaster. Everyone knows that. Why?"

"Do you honestly think he didn't know about your transcripts?"

As soon as his mind processed this, the blade nde's eyes widened. Ozpin...knew about his transcripts, and still kept him around?

"B-but why?"

"What do you think? Because he saw potential in you." A small smile touched his face as he turned away, heading back into the forest. "And I think I do too."

"What does that mean?" Jaune asked in confusion. Rouge didn't give him an answer and instead continued to leave. At least, that was the plan until a low growl caught their attention. They turned their heads to find a black shape emerging from the bushes. It was large and furry, ivory spikes jutting out from its back with a bone mask over its face. Red eyes peered at them with malice, sharp teeth ready to sink into their flesh. "Oh, come on! Seriously?!"

"It must be the sap you smashed on Cardin." Rouge said with annoyance, bringing out his scythe once again into the fold. "Let's deal with this quickly."

"R-right!" Jaune cried as he quickly brought out Crocea Mors. Even if he was inexperienced in combat...he doubted now the time to be a coward.

Then the two charged, the Ursa Major roaring in anger and charging at them.

* * *

 **[Jaune Arc. At first glance, he seems to be a mere regular person like everyone else at Beacon, minus the lies. However, underneath that is...potential. According to the information, male members of the Arc Family, distant relatives to the new extinct royal family of Vale, are late bloomers. As he is now, he's only on par with a trainee at Signal. But, if he were given time to develop...**

 **No, that isn't the reason I'm writing this report. There's a hidden potential somewhere inside that exterior of his. Something that intrigues me. I don't know his values or his beliefs. What I can say for certainty is that he understands how important the role of Leader is now.**

 **Following the incident at Forever Fall, Jaune Arc had asked for a meeting with Professor Ozpin. No doubt it was to verify the idea of him allowing to stay at Beacon, despite knowing that his transcripts for forged. Not long afterwards, the tension that surrounded Team JNPR has all but faded. I've also noticed how he and Pyrrha Nikos have steadily grown more closer. Not to an intimate level, but of solid friendship and comradeship.**

 **Perhaps its me being biased, but...Jaune's potential has piqued my curiosity. For now, I will continue to observe him and seek out potential members of the Black Fang here at Beacon Academy. Who knows? Perhaps he might be more interesting than I believe.**

 **For the time being, however...Edan's reports have me concerned. Recently, a new drug has started to hit the market. We don't know exactly what this drug is or who's distributing it. Once we learn more, I intend to shut down operations.**

 **This is the end of my log, I suppose. Truth be told, I have no idea why I write these. Half the time, it's simply to write down the strange dreams I keep having. Speaking of which...I had another one the other night. It was about a boy, piloting a giant white machine. At first, I thought it was the newly developed Paladin's, but it was different. More powerful and agile. Somehow, I knew the name of the machine and the boy who piloted it.**

 **The 7th Generation Knightmare Frame: Lancelot. Suzaku Kururugi.**

 **I don't know why I keep having these dreams or why I seemingly know these people. Perhaps its simply stress.**

 **After all...changing the order of the world is never an easy task.]**

* * *

Report: CONCLUDED

* * *

" _Humans are nothing more than bigoted egotistical creatures who never learn from the mistakes of the past! We have! You humans should be the ones to understand what it feels like to be crushed beneath someone's boot!"_

 _"Presume your revolution succeeds...what then? Do you intend to have the humans suffer what you have and retaliate in the same manner, if not more violently?"_

 _"Y-you...?!"_

 _"My name is Rouge. What's yours?"_

Next Stage: Bloody Rook

* * *

At last, she is done! Muwahahahahah!

Welcome, everyone, to Black Rebellion: Chess Pieces! A collection of side-stories that connects to RWBY: Black Rebellion and focuses on events that are relevant, in some way, shape or form to the story and universe itself. What better way to start it off than with Jaunedice?

Jaune is probably one of my favorite characters of all time. RoosterTeeth has been building him up to be a warrior, and I'm hoping that they do not disappoint when they unveil his Semblance. Volume 5 is rapidly approaching its end, but I will enjoy it either way. I just hope Volume 5's finale will be spectacular and reunite our leading ladies together!

Speaking of Volume 5...anyone else surprised by this week's episode? For those who haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil it, but it's...certainly surprising. If Monty had this scripted in, my respect for the bastard has gone up quite a lot.

Rest in peace, Monty. Rest in piece.

Also, fun little fact when I was perusing youtube. Came across a video that detailed small little trivial info on RWBY. 107 facts. Provided this information is accurate, Monty and his crew had up to seven to ten volumes worth of content. I don't remember when that vid was posted, but if the content is still the same, I can't wait to see what RT has in store. Especially since the inclusion of the Maidens was done before Volume 3 if my memory is correct.

Enough geeking, though. I have good news: the planning stages of Act II are almost done! Soon, Black Rebellion will continue in glorious fashion! As such, leading up to it, I am doing two more side-stories: each characters vital to Rouge's character. One of them, as you can clearly see, is Adam. Who the third is, well, I'll keep that as a surprise~

I will say this much: do not expect Act II to be published this year. RWBY: Black Rebellion - Act II will be published sometime next year...much like everything else.

*sigh* my wallet is crying for all the games coming out next year.

Well, that's it, everyone. Let me know what you guys all thought about this, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

 ** _P.S: to the guys asking me about updating Taken King, BE PATIENT. Christ, I'm a human being. Not a robot._**


	2. Stage 2: Bloody Rook

Edan: Heeey, look! It's an update! Even though it ain't exactly popular! I mean, how many reviews did Black Rebellion get? Then compare it to this one?

Rouge: We take what we can get. Now stop complaining. Besides, not everything is about views, favorites, follows and reviews.

Edan: Party pooper. *pauses* Hey, wait. Where are the rest of the guys?

Yang: Out on a lunch date with C.C. Something about them discussing the script?

Edan: Seriously? And she didn't invite me?! BITCH!

Rouge: ...please just start the chapter.

* * *

 _"_ _We're better than humans. We have everything humans have and more. Humans shouldn't just fear the Faunus, they should serve the Faunus." -Adam Taurus_

* * *

 **Black Rebellion: Chess Pieces**

* * *

The night was cold, but it was something Adam had been used to. What he wasn't used to was sitting atop the roof of an old abandoned apartment building in the slums of Vale. No police force or member of law enforcement set foot in this place, making it the perfect home for back alley streetrats and other vermin. Even the Faunus could find solace here. Not him, though. If anything, he found it to be distasteful. A sight that reminded him of how screwed up the world had been.

"Then again, wasn't the world screwed up to begin with?" he mused as he looked up at the moon. It was half-full, with its fragments shown in clear view. "Huh. Weird. The sky looks familiar for some reason."

"Probably because the moon was half full wen we met for the first time in eight years."

Adam looked over his shoulder. Behind him was a familiar face, a cool smile plastered across their lips while wearing a heavy black jacket that shielded him from the cool wind and a hood thrown over his face.

"Rouge." Adam said in surprise. "What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at Beacon?"

"What?" Rouge retorted. "A guy can't meet his friend?" The Bull Faunus stared at him for a moment before rolling his eyes and turning his head back to the night sky above them. Rouge walked up next to him, taking a seat. "You know, this brings back memories. I remember seeing a view like this, a little before mother died. Now that I think about it, I think it was during our vacation in Menagerie."

Adam smirked. "I remember that. It wasn't odd for humans to come by, but it certainly wasn't everyday."

"I know. But in all honesty, I'm glad my family went. There, I was able to see first hand how much humanity screwed the Faunus over, as well as meet you."

The red-haired man smirked. "So, you were just as bad as before you made your promise?"

"No." Rouge replied. "I only realized it after mom had died."

* * *

 **Menagerie - Ten Years Ago**

A fist collided with flesh, knocking a body of muscle and bone down to the floor. Dust and dirt kicked up upon impact. There, the body lay, motionless for two whole seconds before eyes burning with fire lit and threw itself back unto its feet, a scream ripping from its throat and returning the punch of its tormentor with equal force.

The fight had been going on for several minutes. In that time, the victim had already beaten up the tormentor's accomplices if the unconscious bodies littering the ground were any clue.

The tormentor himself was looking too good. He never expected the victim to retaliate so violently if the welts forming on his face were any indication. Each time it struck, it hurt. Bruises were already beginning to ruin his skin. He tried going in for a straight to knock the poor victim flat, but it dodged easily and retaliated with a right hook that made threw him to the floor. Groaning, he tried to get up, but the victim pinned him to the ground and began to strike at him with ferocity.

Knuckles struck the skull, again and again until blood was starting to spray. The bully tried to defend himself, bringing up his arms, but even his defense was starting to weaken. Before long, his nose was broken.

Blood splashed into the victim's face as his assault continued. He bully did not deserve any mercy. None of them did!

The victim grabbed hold of one of the bullies arms and pried it away before cocking his fist, slamming it down for one final punch.

A tooth was sent flying.

* * *

"...it's hot." Rouge muttered as he tugged at his shirt. "And my throat's all scratchy."

Summer giggled at her son's reaction as she, Tai and Yang stepped off the boat and into the rather expansive reception area that was Menagerie's docks. Everywhere, a person with an animal-like feature could be see. Some had even deigned to swim around in the water, having gills in their throats and even fins. One of them even had a fish-like lower half.

"That's because Menagerie is the tropics, Rouge." she told him. "Of course it will be hot. And your throat's all scratchy because you slept all the way here with your mouth open."

Taiyang laughed. "He's lucky a fly didn't buzz into his mouth!"

"Shut up, dad..." Rouge murmured in slight irritation. He didn't like it when his parents made fun of him. It was embarrassing. Especially when both of his sisters were around!

"So many people..." Yang whispered with sparkles in her eyes. "Hey, daddy? Why do they have ears and tails?"

"They're Faunus, sweetie. And Menagerie is their home. Actually, a close friend of ours is the reason why we have a place to stay here for our vacation." Taiyang told her, ruffling her hair. "Just be polite to the people here. And no pulling on their tails and ears. Got it?"

"Got it!" Yang nodded exuberantly.

"Yes, daddy!" Ruby chirped.

"Understood." Rouge bobbed his head in a less enthused manner.

Summer pouted. "Rouge...you should be excited! This is you children's first time out of Patch!"

"Yeah!" Ruby giggled. "Be excited, brother!"

Rouge frowned. "But I wanted to read more books!" he argued. Even at a young age, he was already well into reading books, even if they were still a bit far from the ones teenagers and adults read. "How am I supposed to read if we're here?"

"I'm sure Krim's got a few books or two you can read, kiddo." Taiyang told him as he picked up the suitcases. "He's Menagerie's local doctor, so I'm sure he might have something just right for you. Come on, now. Let's go! Time for your first adventure into the wild!"

"Yay!" Ruby cheered before grabbing Rouge's hand and pulling him away, Yang not far behind. "Let's go go go!"

"Aaaah! W-wait!"

"Heeeey! Wait for me, little sister!"

Summer and Taiyang laughed as they watched their children run off to explore the island. Leave it to Ruby to bring Rouge out of his shell, and Yang helping her do it.

* * *

It had taken a bit of time, what with the three little rascals running around and even getting involved in a game with a few other Faunus children, but eventually they found their place of residence for the time being. It wasn't a very large house. In fact, it was barely even a house at all, more resembling a medical clinic than anything else. Rouge was confused by that. Why were they staying at a clinic? Maybe it was owned by the friend they mentioned? Taiyang pushed open the door and stepped in, holding the door for his wife and kids to enter.

Sure enough, the interior was that of a clinic. Most of the walls were painted white, chairs lined up systematically to the right side with a wooden rack containing numerous magazines and children's books. Not that Rouge had any interest in them. Too many pictures for his taste. Ruby would say otherwise, though. At the corner was a reception desk, though there was no one there. To the side, adjacent to the reception desk, was a door with a dim sign hanging above it that read: EMERGENCY.

"Yo, Krim!" he called. "Are you in?!"

"Just a minute!" A voice called out from hallway located behind the reception desk. A few seconds later, a figure stepped out. He was a middle aged man with dark red hair, a light complexion, and amber eyes. The most notable feature were the pair of bull horns protruding from his head. He was dressed in a pair of slacks, a dress shirt with a tie, and a white lab coat.

As he stepped out from behind the reception desk, a tired smile touched his face. "Yo, Tai. Long time no see."

"Got that right!" the blonde man grinned as he walked over, exchanging a hug. "Been way too long since the last time we saw each other!"

"Indeed. It's been, what? Ten years or so? Not since the wedding, I believe." He said as they broke the hug.

He then peeked over his shoulder and saw the wife and children. Summer waved. "Hello, Krim. It's been a while."

"Far too long, Summer." Krim said, chuckling. "I assume the little ones are yours?"

"Yes. These are my oldest daughters, Ruby and Yang." Yang giggled and waved at the man while Ruby and Rouge hid behind Summer's leg, staring at the man shyly. "And the boy is my son, Rouge."

"A pleasure to meet you three. I'm Krimzen Taurus, Menagerie's resident doctor."

"H-Hello..." Ruby shyly greeted. Rouge remained silent, simply nodding his head in greeting.

"I can see these two are tad bashful."

Taiyang smirked. "Ruby, mostly. Rouge just needs time to warm up to you. Fair warning, though. He's kind of a crybaby."

"DAAAAD!"

"See?"

The little boy pouted. He was NOT a crybaby! Why does his dad always do this?!

"Well, showing a bit of tears isn't a bad thing." Krimzen said. He then looked at the clock and frowned. "Strange...Adam should have been back by now."

"Who?"

"Oh, Adam is-"

The door behind Summer and the three children opened. Rouge turned around to find a boy, a few years older than him, entering. His eyes widened when he saw his state: blood scattered across his face with several nasty looking black and blue blotches and a fierce face that just practically screamed angry. He had messy red hair, along with two horns on his forehead. His black t-shirt was slightly muddy and his shorts looked as if they had been ravaged by a knife.

The two boys eyes met. One stared in surprise. The other in indifference.

"Adam!" Krimzen brushed past Taiyang, moving over to the older boy. "Good grief, what happened?"

The boy, Adam frowned. "Just Cyan and her bullies." he said. "They tried jumping me outside of school."

Krimzen frowned as he checked Adam over for any other injuries other than the ones on his face and arms. "I thought her mother and she had a talk."

"Pft. As if that bitch ever listens to anyone. She puts up an act, only to show her true nature whenever she damn pleases." The boy scoffed in disgust.

"Adam, what have we talked about language?

"Always to watch it, because you may never know who may be listening..." He repeated his father' words with some annoyance.

"And we have three kids staying with us for a month, so filter on the language." Adam then looked past his father. As he did, he locked eyes with Rouge again, leading to the odd-eyed boy ducking out of sight while Ruby waved back shyly. Yang simply grinned and waved as well. He raised an eyebrow and then looked at his father for answers. "This is the Xiao-Long-Rose Family and their kids: Yang, Ruby and Rouge. Treat them kindly."

"...hey." Adam gave a short greeting.

* * *

"You know, I still find it hard to believe that the guy who would become the founder of the Black Fang would be such a nervous brat back then." Adam smirked as he took off his mask, looking at Rouge. The odd-eyed teen scowled as he looked away, irritated that he would bring that up. "The difference is like night and day."

"Ah, zip it. You aren't any better. When we first met, you had a neutral opinion about humans. Now look at you. The biggest pro-Faunus human hater in the whole damn world."

The Bull Faunus shrugged. "Well, you know what they say. Time changes us, for better or worse."

"I know..." Rouge agreed solemnly. "But given the present circumstances, we had no choice but to change."

There was no disagreement nor remark about that. It was how the world was. Sometimes, there was no choice but to change whatsoever. Even if that change was for the worse. In fact, Rouge could vividly remember the time when he first began to change. It would have been around a week or so into the family vacation at Menagerie.

* * *

A week had come and by since the family of five had arrived in Menagerie, and in that time, they had grown rather accustomed and used to the tropical island, if a bit weirded out by the occasional attention. Usually, tourists were around for a few days, while their stay was meant to last a month. Given how small Menagerie was, it hadn't taken long for word to spread. That a group of humans were lodging with their resident doctor, Krimzen Taurus. Human tourists were especially rare in their small community.

In that short amount of time, a few of the residents of Menagerie had chosen to mingle with the Xiao Long-Rose family. Most had been asking what sort of environment Patch was like, while others had discovered that the married couple were also former Huntsmen and asked about their exploits. Every now and then, Ruby and Yang would drag Rouge with them when playing with the other children, much to his chagrin. He often tried to hide and read the books Krimzen offered him, but no matter how hard he tried, Ruby always managed to find him somehow.

Of course, that wasn't to say not all Faunus in Menagerie were accepting of the idea of humans staying so long with them. Taiyang had hidden his children well from the hidden hostility, but Krimzen and a dear friend of his had done everything they could to assure the populace that they were not to be touched or subject to any negative activity. That didn't stop the glares, though.

Within their stay, Krimzen's son, Adam, had been finding himself targeted by Cyan more and more often. He believed it was because his father was friends with a human and was allowing them to stay. It didn't take a genius to know that she didn't like humans. Period. Why was anyone's guess. The redhead couldn't care less. All he cared about was protecting himself from his bullies.

And anyone trying to badmouth his father.

While he could tolerate scathing words and jeers directed towards him, he couldn't abide anyone who vocally scorns his father. He wouldn't forgive them. After his mother died, his father was the only one left to raise and take care of him. It had been difficult at first, given how the man was not as experienced in raising children as his wife was, but they learned.

Of course, one of the downsides of being a single father was dealing with a son who had begun to learn how to swear at the age of ten. Not his fault, though, as the other children had also started to learn how to curse.

Back to the point, Adam was currently in what he liked to call his secret base, which really wasn't much. Most children liked to hang out in trees inside a tiny box of wood. It was also very bleak with hardly anything inside, other than the flag of the White Fang pinned to the wall opposite to him.

The White Fang. The symbol of his hopes for the Faunus, led by a friend of his father, Ghira Belladonna. An activist group striving for Faunus Equality through peaceful protests and rallies.

Unfortunately, things have not been working out.

Humans were still not accepting the idea of co-existence. Hell, it was Menagerie that was proof of their continued prejudice. They fought together with humans, and what was their reward? An island that was only barely habitable. Two thirds was either too harsh to colonize or brimming with hostile wildlife and Grimm. Adam, for his part, was annoyed with humans and their stupidity. It was a wonder how they hadn't been killed off yet because of their incredible stupidity and folly.

Then again, what did he know? He was still a kid. Besides, if he continued along that line of thought, he'd be no better than Cyan.

Adam sighed as he stared out the makeshift window he made in his treehouse, leaning out and gazing at the vast ocean that stretched out past the borders of this tiny island of theirs. "So stupid..."

"L-leave him alone!"

"Hm?" Adam looked down. Near the entrance to an alleyway shortcut leading to the marketplace, a few kids were slowly encircling two boys. He couldn't see one of them, since their back was facing him, but the other was most definitely a Faunus by the patches of scaly skin lining his chubby cheeks. The red-haired boy's eyes narrowed at one of the brightly colored armbands wrapped around one of the bully's arm. "Tch. Cyan, again?"

Adam was hardly the only one being bullied. Cyan had fancied herself as the "queen bee" of their elementary school and was constantly looking for people to harass in order to assert her authority. She targeted the quiet, but noticable children first. A way to make a statement that she wasn't above harassing the weak. Then she started with the more popular kids. Adam didn't quite consider himself popular, but for some reason Cyan had deemed him a target. The bullying had gotten worse when the Xiao-Long-Rose family came, but it wasn't anything he could handle.

Either way, this little squabble was hardly anything for him to get involved in. He was about to pull away when one of the bullies struck the black-haired defender of the victim in the face, throwing him to the ground. Slowly, they got up, revealing heterochromatic eyes, ready to tear at any moment.

Adam's eyes widened in recognition. "Rouge Rose?"

What was that boy doing? A human boy, defending a Faunus from a bully...

Cyan grabbed Rouge by the collar of his shirt. "That all you got you lousy human?" She sneered.

Despite his pain and fear, Rouge mustered up a defiant glare. Scoffing, Cyan tossed him back on the ground. He tried to get up, but one of the bigger bullies pinned him underneath his foot, keeping him to the floor. Meanwhile, two other bullies slowly approached the helpless Lizard Faunus.

The scaled boy tried to crawl away, but the two bullies hoisted him up by the arms. Cyan crouched down to look at the frightened boy in the eye.

"Aw, what's the matter? Scared, little runt?"

The scaled boy was now whimpering. Pinned beneath by one of Cyan's thugs, Rouge tried to pry the foot off of him. In favor of his troubles, the heel dug further into him.

"You're not going anywhere." The one pinning him sneered.

Rouge gritted his teeth. Even as the pain continued to pile into his back, he tried to push himself up. Each time, the bully continued to drive his heel further in. Cyan noticed this as she looked over and frowned. "I still don't get why the Chieftan is allowing you stupid humans to be here." she said with a scowl. "All you people do is make things worse! You shouldn't even be allowed to anywhere close to this island!"

"S-says the one...hurting other Faunus!" Rouge challenged weakly. "W-why are you...even d-doing this?"

"Why do I need to explain myself to a crying brat who can't do anything? Actually, why do you even care? Humans don't care about us Faunus."

"Wrong...! Dead wrong!" the odd-eyed boy shook his head. "Humans...do care!"

Cyan scowled. "Lying little...!"

"...you know, I'm getting really sick and tired of your shit, Cyan." Suddenly, all eyes turned. Approaching the bullies, some of whom began to recoil in fear after having remembered the severe beat down he gave them, was Adam. His eyes were narrowed, and if the scowl on his face was anything, he was not happy. "Quit your bitching, and just shut up and go home crying back to your parents."

"Oh? And you must think you're such hot stuff, Taurus." Cyan spat as she turned toward him. "You think just because you're the son of the island's doctor you think you're above us?"

"I never implied anything. You came to that conclusion all on your own...which must say volumes for your inferiority complex." he retorted, causing her to bristle. "Personally, I think the human has a point. For someone who hates humans, you sure do act like one."

"What was that?!" She practically screeched.

"Just look at yourself. You gathered yourself a mob to bully your fellow Faunus all over the island...just like how a human would." Adam began cracking his knuckles and shoulders. "I can't imagine a bitch more pitiful than you."

Cyan's eyes widened, burning with rage. The bullies all looked at one another in worry. Rouge took a quick look before he capitalized on the distraction. But how? He was pinned? Thankfully, though, if there was anything he considered a weapon, it was his teeth. Seeing his bully's other leg practically next to him, he opened his mouth and clamped his teeth straight down on his ankle.

The end result was the bully crying in pain and removing his foot from Rouge's back in shock. Quickly, he got up to his feet and headbutted him in the chin, knocking him to the ground. Cyan growled in anger, about to rush over and grab the human before a hand grabbed her shoulder and whipped her around, soon facing Adam.

"Also." the Bull Faunus snarled. "Don't EVER mock my father!"

He cocked his fist back and threw a punch, straight into the center of her face. When she hit the ground, Cyan learned that her nose was broken.

* * *

"For a crybaby, you sure could hold your own." Adam reminisced with a grin. "Even if your punches sucked."

"At least I didn't get hit in the balls by Cyan." Rouge shot back. "Speaking of which, do you know what's become of her these days?"

"No clue. After I left Menagerie, I didn't bother keeping track of her."

Rouge snorted. "Not surprising." he said.

The fight had ended quite spectacularly. Both boys were bruised to high heaven, Rouge most of all. Hell, he was practically a sobbing mess as he complained how much he hurt when Adam dragged him back to the clinic. His mother and father made such a fuss while Yang wanted to find the Cyan girl responsible for this and beat her severely. Of course, it also helped Adam find someone actually somewhat tolerable. Neither was sure how they managed to become friends in the first place, but it was still hard to believe. Adam had taken to showing Rouge around Menagerie's more well-known hot spots.

Ruby and Yang had also tagged along for the ride, much to the bull's chagrin. He couldn't say it was all that bad, but that older sister of his knew how to push his buttons. As for Ruby...well, he couldn't really say anything. It was hard to hate her for her childish naivete and innocence.

Those happy times ended, though, two months after the Xiao-Long Rose family had ended their vacation. In many ways, it was also the turning point from when Ghira Belladonna had chosen to step down from his position as High Leader of the White Fang, allowing Sienna Khan to take his place.

Two months following the family of five's departure, Krimzen Taurus and a representative handpicked by Ghira had taken their leave for Vale to participate in a negotiations in regards to the business practices. Overseeing this meeting was a member of the Vale Council. As they were in charge of the Kingdom, it was up to them to decide how things would proceed. If things went well, then the 'unfavorable' conditions that Krimzen and the representative highlighted would be subjected to scrutiny and change for more tolerable work environment. It would be a small step forward, but it was progress.

Or at least, it would have been...had it not been for the "White Hood Incident." To this day, the incident was still regarded as one of the worst cases of Faunus Prejudice.

During the meeting, a group of violent human protestors, all wearing white hoods over their faces, invaded the meeting place, holding the councilmen and representatives at gunpoint. Threatening them to adhere to their demands or die. Krimzen, being the man of peace he was, tried to placate the invaders from doing anything rash and end matters peacefully.

It did not end well.

Because of the actions of humans, Adam became an orphan. And suddenly he understood why Cyan thought humans were horrible. After several other series of events, Sienna eventually succeeded Ghira. When she did, the White Fang had changed. And so had he. No longer was he the kid who was indifferent to struggle. Now, he was a man who wanted humans to pay for what they had done. To understand what it felt like to be on the receiving end of such violent prejudice. To be beneath someone's boot with their heel digging into your spine. He grew cold. Hardened.

In a few short years, he soon became the leader of his own division. The Vale Branch was entrusted to him by Sienna. He was tasked with making sure the humans understood.

Of course, were it not for that decision, Adam would perhaps have never joined the Black Fang.

"Do you remember when we met again for the first time in almost ten years?" Rouge asked with a thin smile. "To be perfectly honest, I almost didn't recognize you."

Adam snorted. "Says the guy who's more or less going to piss off a lot of people, Faunus and otherwise." he said before chuckling. "But, yeah, I remember. To be perfectly honest, out of all the people I would have expected to be under that mask, your face was not one of them."

* * *

 **Vale - One Year Ago**

The night was quiet.

Not for long, anyway.

The forest was dead silent. Only a handful of animals were active at this time of night, and the darkness proved to be the perfect cover. Down below, beneath a small cliff that overlooked the entire forest, a train began to move. It wasn't one of the newer models provided by Atlas. No, this one was an older model. Steam was pouring out from its top as it moved. Its cars were mainly metal boxes, strapped with locks. It was a cargo train, carrying various supplies of weapons and Dust and other materials. One of the many cargo trains running through the old valley pass, just shy of the borders of the Kingdom.

It was also Adam's primary target.

"Ilia. How does the situation look?"

He wasn't addressing any of the six Faunus in his group. Rather, he was speaking to someone via communications. Strapped to his ear was a small communication device. His finger pressed against it, wanting to hear the report clearly before he made any moves. He was anxious and on edge. Ever since the previous mission with the Schnee Dust Company's train, he was slowly growing paranoid.

Blake had betrayed the White Fang. Even after a week, Adam could still hardly believe what happened. And it all occurred right in front of him too.

Why? Why would she...?

No. Now wasn't the time to focus on the actions of a traitor. Right now, he needed to focus. There was more important things.

After two seconds of silence, Ilia reported.

"No sign of any opposition. We seem to be in the clear, and the Train is heading toward the overpass as we speak."

No opposition...it was still much too quiet in his opinion.

"Keep your eyes peeled." he ordered. "Anything happens, report it. And make sure you aren't spotted."

He never would have had to ask that if it were Blake he was talking to. She was better at recon and stealth than anyone else.

Dammit, he was doing it again. He needed to focus. Focus!

"It's 00:00, sir." a Fang member told him.

Adam nodded and stood up, grip on Wilt and Blush tight. "...let's go."

They jumped, bodies falling through the air and coming down hard on the train's roof. Immediately after landing, everyone huddled up and looked around, checking for guards.

There was nothing.

"Let's move." Adam said, voice as cold as iron. "Sooner we get this done, the better."

"Yes sir!" The group tailed behind him as they moved up along the train. However, as they prepared for combat in the upcoming cars, they were surprised to find nothing.

It made Adam even more anxious. There was absolutely no security seen on the transport. Then they reached the cargo car, only to find it empty as well, save for a single item.

A Black Scroll.

"The hell is going on?" he snarled. He pressed his hand to the communicator. "Ilia. Are you sure we aren't compromised?"

"Positive."

He frowned beneath the mask. Something was wrong. Why wasn't there any guards? And why was one of the cargo cars empty? One of his men picked up the Scroll, giving it to him. Strangely, it wasn't locked down, unlike most. A smart person always locked down their Scroll with an electronic keycode. Given the situation, though, he probably had a good idea why.

It was a message.

He opened the Scroll. He half-expected to hear a video message addressed to him. Or even just a letter directed to him. Or anyone who found the Scroll once the train reached its destination. Instead, there was only a single image...a familiar one.

A wolf's head with an insignia behind it: a bird-like marking with a sword running straight through it.

"Is that...the White Fang insignia?" one of his men asked.

"It looks like it, but what's with the bird and the sword?" Another one asked.

"No clue. Think someone's trolling us?"

Adam's jaw clenched, anger boiling. Was this some kind of sick joke? Was someone using the White Fang's marker as their own? No. He had to calm down. He needed to think rationally. Someone was using the insignia intentionally. Was it possibly another Faunus group? If so, then why not reveal themselves? Why leave behind this cryptic calling card of theirs?

He felt all the more confused. "Check the rest of the cars." he told them. "See if our 'guests' are still onboard, or if they're are any supplies left."

"Yes sir!" The group spread out to search, leaving Adam to his thoughts. Just who stole the cargo in the first place? Illia said they weren't compromised...maybe initial sabotage?

Whatever the case, if someone had stolen their mark, they would be left in quite a bind. True, he was able to secure some of the supplies from the Schnee Company's freighter, but it wasn't nearly enough. They were running low as it is.

And he sure as hell wasn't about to accept that "Cinder" woman's help. It would be a cold day in hell before he accepted help from a human.

He looked back at the Scroll. He immediately began to look through it, hoping to find something more than an insignia. He sadly found nothing of note. It was completely empty. As he thought, it was a mere calling card.

One that served its purpose if his irritation was of any indication.

Soon enough, the others regrouped and shared their findings.

"What did you find?"

"Nothing. We found nothing, boss. So security, no cargo, not even a single crew worker on board."

"Wait, then who the hells driving this train?!"

"That would be us, numbnuts."

Adam tensed, hands immediately drawing Wilt and turning. Somehow, during their talk, six individuals had entered the car. Four of the six dressed identically: black jackets with silver trims and hoods pulled over their heads. The upper halves of their faces were hidden behind masks similar to theirs, but ebony in contrast with dark purple markings etched into them. In hand were various weapons, ranging from a rifle to a spear to even a shield, though the sharp edges along said shield implied it was meant for more than just defense. At the heads of the four were two individuals, likely the leaders. One was dressed rather outlandishly, a purple one-piece suit with gold trims and a black high-collar cloak that wrapped around him like the wings of a bat: a peculiar rapier in hand. His face was obscured by a black mask with prongs, resembling a crown of some sort.

The other, however, was unlike the others and freely showed his face.

This was a young male with a light complexion, electric blue hair, and bright blue eyes. He was dressed in a dark blue trench coat with metal bracers around the forearms, a pair of dark pants, and black combat boots. Strapped to his waist was a weapon similar to his own. It was a katana with a highly customized sheath.

"You know, I gotta say. I've heard a lot about the White Fang when Khan took over. I expected to see beasts, not, well...whatever you guys are supposed to be." the blue-haired teen said with a grin on his face. "I mean, seriously? This is a major letdown."

Adam growled. "Watch your tongue, human...!"

"Whoa, hey now! Hold your fire! We come in peace!" The human raised his hands in a placating gesture. He wasn't even reaching for his weapon. Adams eyes narrowed. Was this human mocking him.

"Please excuse my companion, Adam Taurus..." The lead figure in the mask announced. "Edan can be rather flippant. However, he is correct. We haven't come here for a fight, though depending on your actions, you may as well have one."

Adam's eyes narrowed. "And who are you?"

"I am Zero. Leader of the Black Fang." the masked man responded, causing Adam to blink. Black Fang? "A name that the world will be sure to remember in time."

"So what? You guys a new group or something?"

"Of sorts...as a matter of fact, we were inspired by your ways. Taking action to initiate change."

The tension lessened a bit. Such words were quite pleasant to hear. Adam, however, did not relax. His grip never lessened. If anything, it grew tighter. "Is that right?" Adam asked before he scoffed. "Well, I can't say I'm too impressed with the getup." His eyes fell on the named Edan and narrowed. "Especially with your choice in partners."

Edan smirked. "I wouldn't call us partners. More like...what's the word? Friends with Benefits? Something like that?"

"Dont call it that, Edan." The masked man commented. "People would view that an an innuendo."

"Hey, not my fault people would think so. That means their minds are in the gutters."

Adam gritted his teeth. "Were you the ones who stole the cargo?"

"We are indeed." Zero replied. "Of course, the shipment from a company as corrupt as Iniglo Manufacturing is hardly a prize. Of course, given how low you are on supplies, we believed it was the best place to come looking for you."

Then everyone understood and readied their weapons, hostility rising. Adam stood between the Black Fang and his men, ready to strike first. The situation became clear.

It was a trap.

"Now now, Adam." Zero chided him. "We didn't come here to fight. We're simply here for negotiations."

"For what?"

"Your cooperation, of course."

"Cooperation? And just why would we collaborate with a bunch of filthy humans like you?!" He snapped back.

"Now, now..." Edan said calmly. "...whoever said we were all humans here? Your fellow brothers and sisters are with us as well, ya know."

One of the four hooded figures pulled down their hoods, revealing triangular-shaped appendages, reminiscent of those of a fox. Another had pulled up their sleeves and took off their gloves, showing black-like veins across their arms and consuming their hands, resulting them in being colored dark gray. Features not uncommon of a Spider Faunus. The third adjusted the belt of their pants, letting a leopard tail uncoil.

This revelation stunned the members of the Fang and Adam. Their fellow Faunus were part of this unknown group?

"See? We're all brothers here! Well, three of you, anyway." Edan shrugged. "So, why don't we discuss the terms!"

This snapped Adam out of his confusion. "What terms?"

"The terms of your surrender. Duh." Edan asked as if it were stupidly obvious.

It made Adam dislike the blue haired teen even more. His words had all but brought the hostilities out in full force. The air was thick with tension. The red-haired Faunus looked around the car, looking for any means of escape. He wasn't sure why, but something about Edan rubbed him the wrong way. There was something wrong about him. Something dangerous. It was putting him on edge.

"Surrender?" he scoffed. "And here I thought you came here with the purpose of talking to us. Or are you just showing your true colors behind peaceful words?"

Zero's helmet masked his face perfectly. Adam couldn't find any sort of sign of any emotion. His posture remained regal yet imposing. "And I have every intention of keeping this peaceful. Provided your prejudice doesn't get in the way. Let me make one thing clear: this isn't an act of defiance against the White Fang. This is merely us dealing with you."

"Dealing with us? And what exactly makes you think we will just keel over so easily?"

"Perish the thought. I never believed you would simply give up, given your tenacity. However, I do believe we can reach some form of consensus."

"Sorry, but I highly doubt that." Adam refuted. "Especially when you've declared yourselves enemies." His eyes narrowed and spoke up loudly, addressing the Faunus standing with Zero and Edan. "Brothers and sisters! Why have you thrown your lot with the humans?! Surely you know we're in the right! That its the humans fault that we've suffered and endured so much!"

"Wrong." Zero cut him off sharply. "It isn't JUST humans, Adam."

The answer made him recoil. "W-what?"

"C'mon. Do we really gotta spell it out for you?" Edan continued. "Look at you guys. While we admire you for taking action for your ideals, you guys go too far for your cause. Robberies, raids, murders? Those aren't the kind of things people do to achieve equality. That's just plain terrorism. All you're doing is making humanity hate you guys even more, and persecute your fellow brothers and sisters just for being the same race. Hell, you even retaliate harshly against Faunus that don't agree with you..." The blue haired teen gave a grin. "Faunus cracking down on other Faunus...now, doesn't that sound familiar to you?"

A chill ran down Adam's back. Memories of a girl with a bandanna around her arm, cold sneer aimed at him and many other Faunus, came to mind, though they were immediately squashed down when the image of a boy with mismatched eyes also entered his head. He scowled as the grip on his sword tightened. The other members of the Fang looked at one another wearily, finding it hard to refute such a claim. Even still, the fact that it was a human who said it brought forth a nasty taste to their mouth.

"...shut your mouth!"

Edan smirked. "Then make me, bullhead."

"Edan..." Zero warned.

"Oh, come on, Leader. You should know that your friend over here will-!"

 _"DIE!"_

Adam was already upon the loud-mouthed teen with his sword drawn. The blue haired male glanced up, smirk still present.

Then a clash of steel resounded in the train car. Sparks danced in the air, fangs beared between a Faunus and a human, each trying to overpower the other. Edan's eyes seemed to glow blue for a moment before he shrugged off Adam's assault, throwing him off. As he landed back to the floor, the other Fang members raised their weapons, ready to engage the enemy.

And then Zero's forces met them with equal measure. The one with the shield stood guard before Zero while the marksman and the spearbearer stood on either side of their leader. He gave a low sigh. "It seems negotiations have failed, then." he lamented before brandishing his weapon. "It seems we do this the hard way."

Edan chuckled. "Yeah, sorry about that. But hey. Least you get to see bullhead over there in action, right?"

"Hardly any consolation." Zero retorted before he raised his voice. "Capture the White Fang!"

With that order, the car erupted into chaos. The first to enter the fray was a rematch of Edan and Adam, swords clashing once again before parting and clashing again, sparks flying with each encounter. Zero, meanwhile, stood against the White Fang Lieutenant, a burly man with a sawblade for a weapon. The others, meanwhile, dealt with the other grunts.

Two of the Fang shot their firearms, yet the shield bearer stopped their attacks and rushed in while his comrades followed in pursuit. Once they were close enough, he bashed the two grunts with his weapon while the spearsman and the marksman came around and incapacitated them.

Two shots struck the first grunt, knocking him to the ground. A bash from the shield and he was thrown away, back slamming into the car door. As he flopped back down to the floor, he looked up in time to find the shield-wielding BF slamming his foot into his face, knocking him out. The second grunt, however, was not as easily defeated. She parried the spearman and dodged to the side, going in for a slash to their exposed rib. They defended, swiveling their shaft and blocking before parrying her and retaliating with a leg sweep, knocking her off her feet. She quickly brought up her sword, deflecting the path of the spear and piercing the area next to her head.

"Get off!" she shouted as she pushed her opponent off, leaping back to her feet. She lunged and swung, hoping to cut off their head.

Her opponent brought up the shaft of the spear just in time to parry the blade.

With a shrug, she was thrown off balance and struck in the face when the spearman twirled around, ramming the butt of their weapon into her jaw. She was left disoriented, stumbling back and left open for a strike to the stomach, which left her kneeling. A well-placed punch, and she was out alongside her comrade.

The remaining Grunts were locked in combat with Zero. Much to their misfortune...they underestimated fighting a single person.

It was like an acrobat and a gymnist all rolled into one, deftly dodging each strike with swift movements before counterattacking brutally, striking them when they were open. Before long, the grunts fell to their knees before the Lieutenant tried to take him down. The massive chainsaw blade came with the intent to bisect him, yet Zero nimbly side-stepped out of the way. The as the blade dug into the metal floor, the masked man flanked the Lieutenant and kicked him in the throat. He stumbled back, Aura repelling the damage before he growled. "Hold still, monkey!" he snapped as he charged in, swinging in a wide arc meant to bisect the man in half. Zero jumped up, tucking his legs in to avoid the blade before landing in a crouch, thrusting his rapier and aimed straight for the man's neck.

However, his strike was deflected by a metal whip, sparks flying in his direction. Sensing danger, he quickly jumped back to avoid another strike and craned his head.

To the side, a new White Fang soldier had entered the car, shown by the cargo door being left ajar. It was a girl, that was much was obvious by her physique. Her skin had somewhat darker spots on her arms, legs, and face, resembling blotches or moles. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, curling at the end like a chameleon's tail. Her mask, which possessed sharp horns, but were not apart of her overall body, also pointed upward at the top and extended past her hairline. She wore a black, plum and navy sleeveless stealth suit with short legs. The suit had two parts to the bottom section: a navy blue front panel that matched her belts and a plum color to the rest. The color divide was at the center of her thighs. The stealth suit's zipper was gold, and over it, navy blue belts with gold buckles. She wore simple black boots with a cuff and a black glove on her right hand.

In her hand was a weapon, resembling a rapier with a spiral-shaped groove wrapped around it, though in the grooves was a yellow light, accented by sparks of electricity.

The woman scowled as she swung her weapon, extending it to form into a sparking whip. Zero swiftly jumped back to evade, only to find the Lieutenant coming at him with his blade raised above his head, intending to cut the masked man clean down the middle.

"Time to die, little man!"

He brought the massive weapon down. But much to his sock, the masked man blocked it with the flat of his sword. That just wasn't possible! His chainsaw blade should've cut through the metal. But upon closer inspection, one would see that it was the other way around. As the hulking blade weighed on top of the thin sword, it seemed as if the smaller blade was cutting through the larger one.

With a push, the Lieutenant was pushed back. Growling, he looked at Zero with irritation as he began to inspect his blade. "Hm. Not bad. I haven't given Edan enough credit, it seems." he remarked plainly as if he wasn't in the middle of a fight to the death. "Then again, Ruby did help with the design a bit, so I suppose I should thank the both of them. Shame she won't ever see _Guilty Thorn_ in action anytime soon."

"I don't know who you are..." the woman said with a scowl. "But you're making a mistake, attacking the White Fang!"

"Attacking?" Zero questioned. "It seems you haven't been listening. This isn't an attack on the Fang."

He gave the blade a quick swing. The hilt of the rapier began to click, pieces shifting as plates along the blade began to move and extend, thinning out the sharp edge of the sword and lessening its with as a barrel began to extend, matching the length of the weapon and ending its transformation.

"This is an attack on _Adam Taurus_."

With that said, he raised his weapon and pulled the trigger. Afterwards, a blast of red shot forward, nearly hitting the girl as she leaped back to avoid it. Once it smashed against the ajar cargo door, it was blown straight off its hinges, soon vanishing with the scenery. The girl gaped at the power of that shot. That door was made of two inch steel, and a single blast ripped it off its hinges! Her eyes snapped back over to Zero, who was aiming his next shot: directly at her.

"I suggest you stand down or else."

The Lieutenant got up on his feet, giant sawblade in hand. "Never." he refused the man's ultimatum. "I refuse to bow to a human! Especially one that manipulates our brothers and sisters!"

"We've only just met, and yet you make accusations." Zero sighed. "How stale. Still, if that's your choice, then far be it from me to decline."

 **[RWBY OST: This Time (From Shadows - Part II)]**

"You bastard!" The Lieutenant roared as he charged again.

"Rushing head on, what a one-trick pony."

The girl was soon to join, though, her weapon at the ready. They came at him from both sides. Zero felt confident that he could defeat them. Especially the girl. She was a little wet behind the ears, but her weapon could be dangerous if he wasn't careful. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep this fight up for long. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't have enough stamina to fight the two of them.

 _'Desperate times call for desperate measures.'_ he thought whimsically as the cartridge attached to Guilty Thorn spun before clicking in place. The markings etched into the blade, courtesy of the plates, lit dark purple as the Dust became acclimated. _'And now, a dance.'_

He twirled Guilty Thorn in hand before stabbing it into the ground, letting the dust infuse into the floor.

Just as the two Faunus approached, the metal beneath their feet began to warp and rip apart. The car itself even began to twist and bend in unnatural ways. The metal began to crumple like paper. The two stumbled on their feet, the larger of the two falling face-first.

In the midst of their bout, Adam backflipped away from Edan as he swung at him, the sword hovering over his face before successfully gaining distance and looking around. "The hell?!" he shouted in confusion before he looked over, seeing Zero as the source. Cursing, he aimed Blush at the masked man. "Damned pest!"

"Hey now!" Edan shouted as he came in fast, using his sword to divert Blush's path and instead fire a round at the Lieutenant's leg as he was getting up, blowing a hole in his kneecap. Roaring in pain, he grasped his leg. Adam's eyes widened before he roared with rage, returning his attention to the blue-haired teen before him. "No cheating on your date, bullhead!"

"Just die already!" He aimed with a quick stab, yet Edan deflected the strike and came in close with his own sword. Adam quickly brought up Blush to intercept.

The katana was repelled, but Edan was fast. Then again, Adam was fast too. He spun around the same time Edan did, their swords meeting each other and bouncing back. From there, blurs danced between them as they tried to strike at one another. Each blow was close, but ultimately repelled. The warped ground beneath them was making matters difficult for him. One wrong misstep, and that was all she wrote.

He needed to end this quickly.

Edan seemed to share this idea as his eyes suddenly developed a blue glow to them, matched in intensity by his smirk. "Let's turn up the heat!"

In the next moment, Adam felt hot air blow against his face as he defended against Edan's attack. He then understood why as blue flames, wreathed around the sword, tried to eat away at his face, barely held back by Wilt's sharpened edge.

Through the flames, he caught a glimpse of the blue haired teen. Gone was the playful and impish grin from before.

It was an expression of gleeful madness.

If he were honest, that expression unnerved him. He wasn't about to dwell on it, however, as the flames themselves finally provided him the opportunity he needed. As Edan pushed, he took a breath, steeling his nerves and bringing his Aura around his sword. Slowly, the flames began to flicker and flow into it.

His Semblance would be the trump card needed to kill this human. However, if he wanted to end this in one attack, he needed to stay calm. He needed to keep his Aura in place and absorb as much energy as he could. The flames were already being sucked into the blade and, by extension, his Aura. Edan didn't notice this, however, as he continued to push. Eventually, Edan pushed him down to his knee, struggling to keep the sword away from him and the flames from burning him.

Three more seconds.

"Guess Zero was wrong about you." he sneered. "You weren't anything special."

Two more seconds!

"All you are is some edgy poser going through some emo phase."

 _One second!_

"You definitely aren't the person he respected as a child."

Adam had no idea what the human was talking about. Frankly, he didn't care.

After all, what good were the words of a dead man?

Semblance flaring, he pushed Edan back and slid Wilt into its sheath. The red markings on his mask, as well as his hair and his emblem printed on the back of his jacket began to light up crimson red. Beneath his mask, his eyes glowed. An ominous red aura began to flow out from his sword, begging to end this bastard's life. Edan saw this change and grinned, showing off his fangs and leaping into the air, flames flowing behind him. At that same time, Adam withdrew his sword, intending to end this nuisance's life once and for all.

However, before either combatant could deal the final blow, a sense of emptiness suddenly washed over them. The surroundings of their immediate vicinity grew bleak and the air became still. A wave of discomfort and brief nausea overwhelmed him. Adam was confused by what was happening, stumbling and nearly tripping over his feet as he cradled his head, while Edan, after landing on his feet, huffed in annoyance.

"Really, Leader? We were just getting to the good part!"

"You were about to kill each other." Zero replied blankly.

"Your point?"

Adam stared at the man in confusion. He looked back at his sword. The power he felt was gone. His Semblance...it felt like it no longer held any power. But how was that possible? What happened?

He didn't receive an answer, as he soon directed his attention to his comrades.

Ilia was lying on her back, mask shattered and in pieces, revealing her face in full view, though her eyes were rolled behind her head. His Lieutenant was on his stomach, sword lying away from him, though there was a red gash on his shoulder. His anger boiled at the sight and turned his attention to Zero, now fully intending to make the man pay for what he had done.

Then he remembered that there were more than two of them. From behind Edan, the marksman aimed his weapon at him. The spearmaster and the shield bearer stood on either side of Zero, weapons ready to face him.

Then it sunk in.

The Black Fang had him cornered.

 _'Like hell they have!_ ' he hotly refuted as he readied his sword.

Zero gave his men a quick look. "Stand down. All of you." he ordered. "No one is to touch that man but me. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." The troops relented obediently, lowering their weapons. Zero stepped forward until he was a few feet away from the enraged Bull.

"You-!" Before Adam could move in to strike, a cold, blue edge was pressed against his neck.

"I wouldn't if I were you..." Edan stated calmly as if commenting the weather. "Leader here wants to have a word with you, so I suggest you calm down and listen, Bullhead."

Adam scowled. Dammit! These bastards were mocking him! Worse, his brothers and sisters were letting them manipulate them! Damn them all!

Zero gave him a look of judgement, his face hidden beneath the mask. "This can go one of two ways, Adam. One, you come with us peacefully. Or two, we can force you to come. Either way, you have my word your subordinates will be cared for. The choice is yours, however."

"Damn you...!"

"I think that's the okay for option two."

"Edan..."

"What? Come on, he's obviously asking for it!"

Zero sighed. "I understand you haven't had a decent fight, but need I remind you I'd like Adam ALIVE? And unharmed, preferably?"

"...Fine...you never let me have any fun anymore..." Edan pouted as he removed the blade from the Faunus' neck and deftly sheathed it.

The masked man nodded in approval before facing Adam. The Bull Fanus didn't relax in the least bit. His blade was still raised. "First, you interfere with my mission." he said, anger vividly present. "Then, you have the gall to mock us. And then you attack my men. Please, tell me, why shouldn't I kill you right here?"

"For starters, you struck first." Zero pointed out. "I simply wanted to negotiate with you."

"My surrender, you mean!"

"No. To have you join me."

Adam blinked. He stared at Zero, incredulous, as if he had just heard something else.

"...are you mocking me?!"

The masked man chuckled. "Hardly. I mean every word. I want you to join the Black Fang."

"And that makes you think I would except?!"

"Because you, Adam Taurus, are a man driven by Spite. Spite against the humans that shun and scorn you. Spite against the humans who oppress and torment your brethren. Spite against the humans who killed your father."

At the mention of Krimzen, his body went rigid. He bared his teeth, spewing rage from his mouth. "Don't you dare..."

"However, let me ask you something. Say the revolution the White Fang seeks to bring-no, the revolution you seek to create, succeeds, what do you suppose will become of the humans?" Zero questioned. "The answer is simple. They'll be in your position. Shackled. Tormented. Hated. Despised. And they will break."

"Then let them break!" Adam shouted. "Humans are nothing more than bigoted egotistical creatures who never learn from the mistakes of the past! We have! You humans should be the ones to understand what it feels like to be crushed beneath someone's boot! To understand, first hand, what it feels like to be the monster in the eyes of someone else!"

"...would your father have wanted you to stoop so low, Taurus?"

"...he isn't here to make that decision, is he?"

At this point, talking was over. Yet Adam got no further than two steps in, Wilt poised, before he felt something strike the back of his neck. It came so swiftly than his Aura didn't have time to block it.

Then his world went black.

* * *

"Speaking of which, that reminds me. I still owe Flaemis a strike to the head for that one..." Adam commented as he rubbed the spot where he was struck previously.

Rouge chuckled. "Again, I apologize." he told his friend. "At least he's mellowed out somewhat."

"You say that, but he's still as ax-crazy as ever."

* * *

"Yo, Leader! Bullman's coming to!"

What greeted Adam upon regaining consciousness was a familiar, yet irksome voice. The Faunus opened his eyes to find an unfamiliar ceiling. Groaning, he found his vision blurred. Blotches of bright colors caused him to wince. His head was a mess. It felt like there was a haze clouding his mind. His skull was pounding as if he had been through a hangover. He shook his head furiously, trying to erase the cloudy thoughts that plagued him before his eyesight became adjusted. Slowly, the blur sharpened and revealed a room, barely empty with concrete walls and lights dangling above on wooden rafters. As he came to his senses, Adam took a quick look of his surroundings, discovering that he was sitting in a chair.

Unsurprisingly, his hands were bound, much to his irritation.

 _'So they captured me, huh?'_ he thought. _'Typical.'_

"You had a choice to come willingly, Adam." Zero's voice came to his ears. Looking up, he found the man standing in front of him, his weapon nowhere on his person. "Though I can't say I was disappointed by your decision to fight back."

He struggled to release himself from his bindings, wanting to wring the man's neck. Sadly, even his feet were bound to the legs of the chair. "You want to see me fight back?" Adam remarked sarcastically. "Then let me go and I'll show you how I fight back!"

"Tempting, but no thank you." Zero replied cheekily before he turned to Edan. "You can go now, Edan."

The blue-haired teen raised an eyebrow. "You sure? What if he...you know?"

The masked man chuckled. "Don't worry. I think I have him handled." Adam bristled. Had him handled?! Was this bastard really so damn arrogant?! Once more, he violently tried to pry himself out of his bindings, though once again his attempts were met in vain. Edan still looked unconvinced, but shrugged and made his way towards the door. As he closed it behind him, Zero returned his attention to Adam fully. "Now then...where to begin?"

"I have nothing to say to you." Adam growled. "I don't care what you have planned, but I want no part of it. You're making a mockery of the White Fang!"

Zero chuckled. "Which Fang?" he questioned. "Sienna Khan's? Or yours?"

"Just what are you implying?!"

"There is no fooling me, Taurus. While Sienna Khan may advocate the use of force to convey the White Fang's actions, it was never on the same intensity as yours. Let's make up a scenario. The White Fang obtains enough resources to wage a full-out war with a Kingdom. Let's say, Mistral. Their Huntsman are either incapacitated, dead, or outside the kingdom on business. Only a handful of individuals would be capable of defending it, not taking into account the students. Additionally, the CTT tower would be completely undefended. It would be easy to eliminate it and limit communications. The loss of one of the only means of communication between Kingdoms, on top of Mistral losing one of its greatest landmarks and symbols of prosperity, would be a major blow. It would even be a victory and a statement that the Faunus would go to any means to achieve equality."

Zero paused, letting this idea sink in, before he continued.

"However, Sienna Khan would never approve of that. Why? Because she values the lives of Faunus, including those outside the organization. Yes, she may have taken more...aggressive measures, compared to what Ghira Belladonna had attempted, but she wouldn't dare risk putting a target on the backs of Faunus for the sake of taking down a Kingdom. It would bring undue attention to everyone, regardless if they're with the White Fang or not." Zero leaned forward, his mask almost meeting Adam's face. The Bull Faunus could clearly see his own reflection in the mask's lustrous surface, idly noting that his mask was gone. "You, on the other hand, would jump at the chance to bring a Kingdom to its knees. Regardless of what consequences may come of it."

"It's a necessary sacrifice! Some lives are needed to pave the road for successful revolution!"

"Perhaps." Zero admitted. "After all, you can't change the world without getting your hands dirty. However, let me ask you this. Presume your revolution succeeds...what then? Do you intend to have the humans suffer what you have and retaliate in the same manner, if not more violently?"

"Of course! For far too long have the Faunus been under their heel. It's time we make the humans experience oppression for a change!"

"Even if it comes at the expense of your fellow Faunus? Those who want nothing to do with all of this fighting? You drag innocent Faunus into your petty vendetta, and what is the end result? Corrupt agencies enforce harsh laws that bleed them dry. Corporations profit from their blood, sweat and tears to the point where they may as well be living corpses. And dirty law enforcement officers can get away with brutalizing a helpless and average Faunus citizen without repurcussion."

Adam scowled, but found himself unable to retort.

"Also, your making a mistake. Yes, it is the humans and even fellow Faunus who make the lives of others a living hell...but they aren't the only ones."

He frowned, eyes narrowed in curiosity. "What do you mean by that?"

"It is as I said before. Corrupt agencies, bloodstained corporations, and dirty law enforcement. Groups such as these, groups who utilize their authority for their own selfish interests thrive while their victims starve and perish in despair. In other words, the Councils and the ones who back the various governments of Remnant aren't the only ones to blame. The Black Fang does not repudiate on a fair and equal battlefield, Adam...but neither will we ignore the suffering and plight of the innocent. Be them human OR Faunus."

"So, what? You consider yourselves agents of Justice?"

"Hardly." Zero snorted. "If we were agents of justice, we wouldn't be taking this path in the first place. However, working by a system that's corrupt yields no results. You either get corrupted by the system, or you die trying to change it. There's no changing that sort of system. That is why...we will DESTROY this corrupt world."

"Destroy the world? That's a pretty big claim you're making."

And an impossible goal. Now Adam saw how mad this person was. He was actually going to try and wage war with all four Kingdoms. Even he wasn't that suicidal. If it was one Kingdom, then it was perhaps doable? But all of them?! This human had to be mad! Adam felt his rage boiling to the surface when he thought of how this bastard was going to lead his brothers and sisters to ruin. Dammit, this was humiliating! If only he wasn't bound, he'd be wringing the bastard's neck!

"Perhaps, but every ambition is grand to a certain level. The only question is whether or not you can succeed. And I fully intend to do that." Zero paused briefly before his tone became softer. "Provided I have your cooperation. And perhaps, in the future, the White Fang if Sienna Khan's ideals hold up."

Adam scowled in fury. "And what in the holy hell makes you think I'd ever work for a human like you, Zero?!" he spat the name like it was a curse.

Zero didn't respond. Instead, his hand touched his mask. "...I suppose nine years is a long time." he said as the prongs on the mask began to recede into the mask, clicking back together. It took Adam a second to realize that he was going to take the mask off. Good. He wanted to burn the face of this son of a bitch into his memory when he killed him. "Back then, you were never this hot-headed or passionate. Then again, I suppose that's just calling the pot the kettle black, isn't it?" With a tug, the mask was removed from his face.

Adam felt his body run cold. Edan's words from earlier came to the forefront. _"You definitely aren't the person he respected as a child."_ The meaning behind those words were lost to him before, but now, he finally understood. He half-expected Zero to be a middle-aged man, scars on his face with a beard or something. Perhaps even an old war veteran missing an eye with a horrible scar that warranted the mask.

Zero was a child. A thirteen, fourteen year old boy with raven black hair that slightly covered his right eye. The tips of his hair were tinged red as well, gradually fading to black as it reached his scalp. Half of his face was covered by a thin black face-mask, leaving only his eyes exposed. His left eye was rich violet, glistening and shining like a gem whereas the right eye was colored beautiful silver, shining like a blade.

He was human.

And Adam _knew_ him.

"Y-you...?!"

"Let's start over." Zero's smile was barely hidden behind the face-mask. "I'm Rouge. Rouge Rose. What's yours?"

* * *

"Even now, that look on your face had been priceless." Rouge smirked.

Adam rolled his eyes. The memory from back then was still quite vivid, as was his reaction. The human friend he had made ten years ago, and forgotten about after his father died, was the person who stood before him and expressed his ideals. There had been no greater shock than that. Even more so that there had been no trace of the crybaby, shy and reclusive bookworm. Instead, there was someone else there. Someone unrecognizable. Someone who wanted to change this world, even if it meant getting his hands bloody.

Even now, he was still having a hard time believing it. Then again, time did change everyone equally.

Rouge had finished their reminiscent of the past, instead focusing on the real reason why he came here. As such, all pretext of personal enjoyment were gone. "How are things progressing with Torchwick and this Cinder Fall woman?"

Adam sighed. "She keeps everyone on a tight ship and a need-to-know basis." he stated. "So far, we've only been instructed to help Roman in obtaining Dust."

"How much?"

"Enough to cause Dust prices to sky rocket."

Rouge whistled in amazement. It seemed Cinder was looking for a lot of resources.

Of course, resources weren't hard to come by. Especially since, a few days after Adam had returned to the White Fang with no one even remotely aware that he had become a turn coat, Cinder had returned and made another offer. This one much more prominent, since it resulted in the deaths of his men. He had no choice but to accept.

In the long term, stealing Dust would result in the Kingdom getting more. However, "patience" was not Roman's strongsuit. If anything, he would move on to his next big target and go from there. In the short term, however, because of the lack of Dust, manufacturing loses impact. Weapons are low on availability, especially since almost ALL weapons on Remnant were designed to utilize Dust. A fatal flaw, one he knew a smart person would take advantage of. With a Dust shortage, manpower would be stretched thin by investigations and inqueries looking for answers they already had.

Cinder wasn't just stocking up on supplies. She was weakening Vale's defenses. He had to applaud the woman for that. Whoever she was, she certainly knew what she was doing.

'Of course, things aren't going to stop here, are they?' he thought with a wry smile. He then stood up, noting that it was almost time to head back. He couldn't afford to linger any longer, lest a third party discover him with Adam. Thankfully, his friend saw this as well as bid him farewell, taking their separate ways. Once Rouge left the rooftop, he took notice of a black bird sitting atop a telephone pole, red eyes trained on him. 'Especially not since the game hasn't even started.'

Yes. Even now, the game hadn't truly begun. If anything, they were still in what he considered the preliminaries. There was still much to learn. Much to plan and think out.

After all, he was playing a game against a Witch and an Immortal.

* * *

 **[The recruitment of Adam Taurus into the White Fang was...rough, at best. Edan's antagonistic actions hadn't exactly helped matters, but the small skirmish was a good way of ascertaining how strong my old friend was. His temperament had shocked me. I had never would have imagined that Krimzen's death would have affected him so much. Then again, if the investigations I had done a few weeks earlier were any indication, it wasn't just human cruelty that caused him to change.**

 **It seemed that Cyan's parents, and a few other Faunus, were not as supportive of Ghira as we were led to believe. How ironic that their viewpoint's changed, now that Sienna's taken over.**

 **Regardless, the fact remains that we now have a mole in the White Fang. More surprising, though, is the appearance of this woman. Cinder Fall. Even though we've only recently been formed, I was able to establish a few connections. There's almost no records of this woman. At least, not from what I found. No criminal record or anything.**

 **A new player, it seems.**

 **Either way, I'd call this mission a success.**

 **...still. Adam's temperment reminds me of that girl in my dreams. I've never met her before, yet each time I see her, I see a paragon of strength and power. That machine she pilots is no joke, either. If only the weapons I see in these dreams actually existed, then perhaps things would be so much easier.**

 **I wish I knew the meaning behind them, though. Especially when I know the name of a woman I've never met.]**

* * *

Report: CONCLUDED

* * *

 _"The weak die. The strong survive. That's how the world works."_

 _"So you're telling me that being weak is a sin?!"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"Then this world can go to hell! I won't accept...I REFUSE to accept that world!"_

Next Time: Black King

* * *

Thanks go to Daemon of Wrath, who as usual, helped me finish this puppy. MUCH longer than the one with Jaune. If I'm being honest, though, I'm a bit dissatisifed with how it turned out. I might go back and edit it, but for now, enjoy this chapter for your personal viewing pleasure.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you who the next chapter interaction will be focusing on by the preview alone, do I?

Also, a bit of good news for you all. Once Chapter III is published, you won't have to wait for Rouge and the Black Fang to embark on their next grand adventure! Want to know why?

Because come March or April, the second act of our macabre black drama will launch here on Fanfiction!

...and now I sound like some kind of corny announcer. Bottom Line: RWBY: Black Rebellion - ACT II will be published in 2 to 3 months.

Well, that's it everyone! Let me know what you thought of the chapter and I'll see you guys next time!


	3. Stage 3: Black King

C.C.: Huh. He's early this time.

Ruby: Well, he did make a promise that Season 2 was coming in a few months.

Weiss: Act II, Ruby. This isn't a TV show.

Yang: Might was well be with all the drama going on. Especially with this chapter.

Blake: ...you don't sound particularly happy with this one.

Yang: Yeah...

* * *

 _"_ _I've stared death in the face over and over again! And every time I've spat in that face and survived, because I'm strong enough to do what others won't!" -Raven Branwen_

* * *

 **Black Rebellion: Chess Pieces**

* * *

The raid had gone off without a hitch. And it was one of the biggest hauls Vernal had the pleasure of taking. The camp was practically like a festival. Ironically, it was one of the few raids where the deaths had come before they set foot in the town. Grimm had already overrun the village, though thankfully their numbers were low and easy to deal with. Just to be on the safe side, though, they made sure to take the essentials first. She didn't like being out in the open, exposed, for so long. Not to mention she was nervous whenever Raven had taken her leave.

While the rest of the tribe had goofed off, taking in the spoils of victory, Vernal checked their haul. "Canned food, preservatives, Dust..." she counted off as she and one other went through their loot. After a quick double check, she stepped back and smirked. "We got lucky. How long do you think it'll be before that town gets restored and populated again?"

"Eh." the bandit shrugged is shoulders. "Give it a couple months. Either way, I'd say we're set for a good long while." He took a quick look around the camp, scratching his head. "Say, where's the boss? Usually she's the first one to hit the town."

"She had something to look into." she told him. "A pet project, she said."

At least, that was what she told the others. In truth, Vernal knew who she was checking up on. The whole tribe had seen him in action just the other day when the Black Fang had debuted and made their presence known to the world. She had to admit, she was impressed. The kid was pretty much declaring war. She did think he was a bit foolish, but otherwise, he definitely took after Raven.

Maybe that was the woman's plan? To create someone like her? Doubtful. He more or less said he would protect those without power. The weak. The people the Branwen Tribe trampled on were such examples of the weak.

Vernal was curious to know where that kid was going to go. What was his endgame? What did he have in mind? She would have to ask Raven the next time she saw the woman. She gave the list back to the man, letting him finish his task before she walked off. She was nearing Raven's tent when she noticed a black bird flying close by, soaring through the forest. She smiled when it neared, emerging from the forest and its body beginning to expand within the blink of an eye, becoming a human shaped figure garbed in black and red with flowing black hair.

"Welcome back." Vernal greeted Raven when she touched the ground. "How was your time in Vale?"

"Eventful." The Tribe leader responded. "I assumed you saw what happened on the news?"

"It was kind of hard not to." Vernal shrugged. "I gotta admit. That kid has balls for declaring something like that."

Raven smirked. "He's a bit like his parents. His determination from his mother, and of course his way of speaking from his father."

"Do have to ask something. With what's going on because of that stunt, can we expect any trouble?"

Raven shook her head. "So long as our actions don't warrant too much attention. How was the raid today?"

"Pretty good." Vernal told her. "We're set for a good long while. To be on the safe side, though, we should probably head out as soon as possible."

"Good. I am impressed your call in judgment is improving. You are doing well, Vernal."

"Thank you."

The two women then proceeded to enter the tent. Raven pulled open one of the curtains, letting Vernal step inside first. Before she stepped inside, though, Raven looked back up at the sky. The clouds were covering it completely, dark and angry with booms of light in the distance, followed by the unmistakable rolls of thunder.

She frowned, clicking her tongue in distaste. "I hate the rain..."

* * *

 **Patch - 8 Years Ago**

The rain pelted the earth like a flood. The dirt was quickly becoming mud and those without umbrellas were drenched, though they were hardly paying their wet state any mind. No, they were far too warped in grief, huddled around a small gravesite while dressed in black. Taiyang was far away, leaning against a tree. The man looked haggard, his cheeks sunken and dark rings underneath his eyes. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days, though given the news he recently received, no one could blame the man.

After all, the grave they were all in front of was Summer Rose's.

"...this is a load of horse shit." Taiyang looked to the side. Appearing into his field of vision was Qrow. Unlike him, he looked cleaner, but there was a pungent smell lingering from him. Worse than usual. It made his nostrils wrinkle in disgust, but otherwise he looked fine, though his eyes were narrowed in disgust. "That isn't even a _real_ grave."

"Tell me about it." Taiyang laughed weakly. "But...it was the best we could do."

Qrow didn't show any other emotion on his face other than loathing. The sight before him was disgusting. A mockery. He took out his flask and unscrewed the cap, taking a drink from it. It tasted bitter for some reason. "Still shit. There's not even a _body_ in there." Another drink. It tasted worse. Scowling, he screwed the cap back on and slipped it into his coat. He looked at the gathered crowd and found three small children. The eldest of which was hugging her two siblings. "How're the brats?"

"Yang's a wreck." Taiyang said blandly. "I hear her crying in her room every day. Ruby's still so young, so she doesn't get it."

"And Rouge?"

The blonde man's weak smile turned downright pitiful. "...I don't know. He hasn't said a word. This is the first time I've seen him come out of his room."

Qrow's eyes softened, watching the three siblings stand together with the adults while the priest gave his words of passing. The sight filled him with anger. This wasn't right whatsoever. This shouldn't even be happening. They were just giving up. Even Tai was giving up. But, he knew better than to try and convince them otherwise. He had long since given up. Now, all he could do was just find everything about this to be nothing short of horrible. It was all wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

He gave a sigh as he ran a hand down his face. Then his face started showing how old he was starting to feel. "I'm not sure what's more sick. The fact that in that grave is Sum's weapon and cloak..." he said before he looked around and felt resentment when he saw the person he half-expected to be here absent. "...or the fact that my dear _sister_ hasn't shown her face."

"Qrow." Taiyang pleaded. "Just...stop, okay? I...I don't want to talk about that."

"...I know, man." Qrow groaned. "Fucking hell. This weather is not helping my mood. I want to get shit-faced, but my booze tastes like shit for some reason."

"I guess that's a sign for you to stop drinking." Tai cracked weakly.

"Yeah. Like that'll ever happen."

The funeral went on, however silent and dreary. Soon, the neighbors of the family and friends to them began to leave. Qrow had long since taken his leave, having grown tired of the mockery and took his leave. Taiyang had taken Ruby and Yang, the latter of which was still teary-eyed and puffy. Rouge, however, lingered for a while longer. The blonde had tried calling out to him, but he was unresponsive. Eventually, he gave up and took his daughters home.

The only son of Summer Rose stood before the grave of his mother, alone and standing in the rain. His bangs obscured his eyes, and his expression was completely without emotion. One might have thought he was a doll, especially as he was dressed completely in black.

The only sound in the vicinity was the pitter-patter of falling rain. But it was soon interrupted by the sound of the air being sliced.

He slowly looked behind him, dull violet and silver eyes peering out from beneath his dark locks. A black portal had been torn open, swirling about with hues of red. Stepping out from it was a woman he had seen before. In a picture his father kept. She was around the same age as his father, wearing a shallow cut black and red dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, and a pair of matching gauntlets. She wore fingerless gloves, one hand holding a dark red katana. An object that looked to be made from feathers hanged from the right side of her skirt. She also wore detached black leggings. Underneath the leggings she wore black boots, which had red high heels and soles. She looked like an older version of Yang, though her face had sharper features and crimson red eyes. Her hair was loosely done up in a ponytail, tied by a red shawl, with the ends resembling curved black feathers.

The woman noticed him immediately, though she didn't seem surprised. The portal behind her dissipated as if it was never there to begin with before she slipped the katana into the unusually large sheathe on her hip.

"...you're Summer and Tai's boy, aren't you?" she asked. "Rouge, right?" The boy didn't reply. He nodded slowly. "I see... You know, you'll catch a cold if you stay out in the rain like this."

"...why are you here?" He questioned her. There was no hostility or accusative tone in his voice. Simply a monotonous question.

The woman ignored him. She walked past him, stopping just short of the grave before she bent down. It was only now he realized that she was carrying a bouqet of flowers.

Black roses.

He recognized the meaning of the flowers. He read about it in a book once. The colors of roses conveyed different meanings. Red was passionate love. Pink mean admiration, gentleness, and grace. Yellow was joyfulness. White was purity or innocence. Orange was energy. Peach was gratitude. Green was growth or life. Blue was impossibility.

And black symbolized death and farewell.

She laid the bouquet down before the grave, staring at the headstone for several moments.

"...she was an idiot." the woman said. "A gentle person, but an idiot nonetheless. Always being the optimist. Rushing into things head on without thinking clearly. Hoping for the best. Now look where it's gotten here." Her red eyes softened as she ran a hand over the tombstone. It read: Summer Rose. Thus I Kindly Scatter. "Even so...I guess there was something nice to being naive."

"...were you friends?"

"I wouldn't go that far. Even if she thought so." the woman replied. She then stood up, looking at Rouge. "You should go home. If you continue to stay out here, you will get sick."

"I don't care..." The boy told her as he walked up to the headstone. "I just...want to understand."

The woman tilted her head. "Understand what?"

"Why..." For the first time, emotion creeped into Rouge's voice. His throat cracked, becoming sobs as tears became mixed with the droplets of rain. "Why...did momma have to die?"

The woman looked at the boy with a neutral expression. Finall, she answered.

"...it was because she was weak."

Rouge stiffened. His body practically froze beneath such merciless words.

"In this world, there are two kinds of people." the woman stated. "There are the winners. The people who come out victorious. The powerful, the prideful, the strong. The tested. And then there are the losers. The people who lost everything. The defeated. The weak. The helpless. The world isn't a caring place. Between bandits, terrorists and the Grimm, no place is safe. I learned that the hard way. So did Qrow. And so did Tai. And...so did your mother." She sighed deeply as she turned away, slowly walking away from him. "The strong survive. The weak die. Those are the rules. That's how the world works."

Rouge didn't move from where he stood. The woman grabbed hold of her katana, unsheathing it again. Just as she was about to open up a portal again and take her leave, bidding farewell to her beloved friend one last time, Rouge spoke with an oddly chilling voice. "So, what your saying is...the world doesn't care if your weak?"

She stopped, turning around. The boy was now looking at her, a strange and intense look reflected in those eyes. Faintly, she could have sworn she saw his odd-colored left eye flicker glittering red. "Yes." she stated firmly. "The world doesn't care who you are or what you do. If your weak, you die. That's it. End of story. If you don't like it, then that's your problem." Her eyes turned cold, staring back down the child before her. "Summer died because she was weak. The world didn't care about her."

"So what?" Rouge hissed. "Your saying that, if might makes right in the world, then being weak is a sin?!"

"Yes, I am. If your sister is weak, she'll die. And so might Yang. And so might Taiyang and Qrow one day." She waved a finger around, aiming at him. "And so might you."

The woman sighed. Why was she bothering speaking about her philosophy with him? He was a child. He wouldn't get it. In fact, she hoped he wouldn't. The last thing she wanted for Summer was to learn how her children were going to be following her to the grave in the next few years.

However, what he said next halted her movements.

"Then this world can go to hell!" She blinked in surprise at the intense fire in his tone. Gone was any form of apprehension and sorrow. All that was left on the boy's face was a fierce, determined rage. "If the world doesn't care if you're weak and will sacrifice you without a thought...then I will destroy that world!" He gripped the fabric of his shirt, teeth clenched so tightly that he worried they might crack and shatter. There was a knot in his chest. Despite the cold rain that fell upon him like an anvil, his body was hot. Like a fire was lit aflame underneath him. "Back then...I thought it was my fault that she left. It was stupid for me to think like that. But I still felt like I could have done something to stop her. Now, I realize something else. It's not me. I wasn't in the wrong. It's this world. The world is wrong!"

"And how do you intend to change that?" the woman asked fiercely. "A child cannot do anything. Even if you could, you would face opposition from all sides. Grimm, Huntsman, The Councils... What you want to do is impossible. Also, would you be able to stomach that? All the deaths you'll have to endure. Your sister might not be able to handle that."

Rouge's burning eyes never faltered. "I don't care." he stated vehemetly. "For Ruby's sake. I... I will...!" In the back of his mind, an image, albeit fuzzy, emerged from the depths of his subconscious. A little girl, eyes closed with the sweetest smile imaginable, sitting in a wheelchair. He didn't know who that girl was, but something about her only fanned the flame. That image overlapped with Ruby's own innocent face. And then the flames burned into a raging inferno.

"I'll destroy this world!"

The woman frowned, ready to dismiss her words before she gasped, watching as his violet eye became overwhelmed in glittering red. And within that eye was a bird-like sigil that resembled a bird about to take flight, wings curled around the pupil.

 _'That mark...!'_

"I'll destroy this world and all who support it! Grimm, Huntsmen, the Councils, it doesn't matter! I will erase them all!" He shouted over the rumbling thunder I refuse...no! I will NEVER acknowledge a world like this!"

With each word that fell from his mouth, the fire in his heart grew greater. These were not simply words that were foolishly being thrown in an attempt to convince her or himself. No, these were words laced with conviction. With a burning passion to follow through on it. Honestly speaking, she had not anticipated this. How could a mere boy, not even 10 years old, speak of such a path? Yet she already knew the answer. It was plain as day, reflected in his left eye. She had seen that mark before. Once before, when she met that woman when STRQ was still active. Before Yang was born. Before she and Taiyang shared a night together.

Slowly, the woman's lips curled into a smile.

"...I see. So you believe you can change a corrupt society like this one? Even though you are a child?"

"I don't care how long it takes me." Rouge spat. "Years. Decades. I WILL destroy this world."

Something foreign was swelling inside her bosom. No, it wasn't foreign. She has felt this feeling before. Its been so long since she has. What was it? Excitement? Anticipation? She couldn't tell. Instead, all she could do was smirk. With a swipe, she opened a portal behind her. "In that case, go ahead. Try and fight against the world." she told him. "I'm curious to see what you'll accomplish, little one."

Without waiting for his reply, Raven Branwen stepped into the portal, vanishing from Patch just as quickly as she had returned. All that was left was Rouge, who's heart was smoldering with intense rage.

* * *

 _'I remember meeting a woman a long time ago. I didn't know anything about her. Not who she was. Where she was from. Why she had come to Vale. I pulled numerous favors, but no one knew anything about her. It was like she suddenly popped into existence._

 _I can remember our conversation in our first meeting. I didn't like not knowing someone in Vale. Especially when that someone had mysteriously managed to buy out nearly all the stockhold shares of every major corporation in Vale, Atlas, Vacuo and Mistral. When I couldn't find anything out normally, I tried the direct route. Last thing I expected was for her to invite me for dinner._

 _She told me she came to Vale because she knew things were going to be happening. Things that were going to shake up Remnant and all the Kingdoms. What was coming, she didn't say. Not even when I held my sword to her throat. All she told me is that it would have to do with a peculiar boy she's been waiting for._

 _She did tell me something of interest though. Something that Ozpin had told me and my team about before. Most people aren't aware, but some of the myths and legends in Remnant were actually real. The Maidens existed. At first, I didn't quite believe it until Ozpin gave me and Qrow our own little brand of magic._

 _Then I met a Maiden for the first time. And then I took her place._

 _Anyway, the woman told me how, in the past, long before the Grimm had ever truly become so much of a threat and the real problem laid within humans fighting against themselves, there were men who possessed great powers. Powers that caused the rise and fall of many kingdoms. A power that came from 'beyond the veil' she called it. What she meant, I didn't know. And she didn't clarify. She did tell me that this power, and those who held it, were branded by a mark._

 _A bird locked in flight, branded upon their eyes._

 _She called it "The Power of Kings."_

 _I didn't put much stock in what she said. I did confirm that she wasn't a threat. And that she was dangerous. It would put me in a bad situation if I tried to get rid of her. Especially since she was the head of a behemoth of a company that dwarfed the Schnee Dust Corporation of all things. Then, I met Summer's kid. Rouge._

 _...hah. It's funny, really. He is nothing like Sum or Tai at all. No. Far from it. He's more like a Branwen.'_

* * *

Report: CONCLUDED

* * *

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 **Join the Uprising in March, 2018**


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